Despite coming off of two straight rocky seasons, Sean Manaea represented one of the more intriguing pitchers available this winter. While his overall numbers in 2023 look mediocre, he improved greatly after making some legitimate adjustments. Looking to prove that his adjustments are legitimate, Manaea will sign with the New York Meys on a two-year, $28 million deal. The 32-year-old will look to rebound and cash in next offseason.
In his first year in San Francisco, Manaea tossed 117.2 innings with a 4.44 ERA (95 OPS+) in 37 games (10 starts). The Giants demoted Manaea to the bullpen after a tough start to the year, although they eventually deployed him behind an opener after improved performance. He finished the year strong and decided to opt-out of the $12.5 million left on his deal.
Sean Manaea Joins a Revamped Mets Rotation
Manaea’s improvements stemmed from him learning a sweeper at the end of May. As detailed by MLB Trade Rumors, despite introducing the pitch to his arsenal on May 30th, Manaea threw it more than 10 percent of the time last year. He threw the sweeper evenly to righties and lefties and generated a great 35.1 percent Whiff Percentage. Batters hit just .140/.161/.163 and failed to make hard contact (82.8 mph average exit velocity).
These results were stark compared to his traditional slider. Opponents hit .285 and slugged .567 against Manaea’s slider and whiffed just 26.2 percent of the time. Unsurprisingly, Manaea completely replaced his slider with his sweeper down the stretch and improved his ERA and walk and ground ball rates.
His rebound led the Giants to give him four traditional starts in September. Manaea pitched well (2.25 ERA) in those starts, going more than 5 innings in each. He struck out 18 in 24 innings and walked only two.
The left-hander will look to prove he found new life as a starter with his sweeper. Joining a revamped Mets rotation could certainly help with that. He has always been a high upside arm that has not put it all together. Manaea will heavily rely on his fastball, but can now use his sweeper as another secondary weapon alongside his changeup. Having three solid pitches does wonders for his future as a starter, and the Mets are clearly betting on his upside.
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