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It almost made too much sense, and it finally became official on Monday when Sean Manaea returned to the New York Mets on a three-year, $75 million deal.
Manaea came to Flushing last offseason as a free agent, signing a two-year, $28 million contract with a player option for the second season. After having one of the best years of his career in 2024, Manaea wisely declined to exercise that option, putting him in position to earn an average of $25 million over the next three seasons.
Overall, Manaea went 12-6 for the Mets with a 3.47 ERA, 1.084 WHIP and 184 strikeouts over 181.2 innings pitched. Even better, he was stellar in three of his four postseason starts as New York went from the National League Wild Card Series to pushing the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to six games in the NLCS.
Manaea figures to be ready to ride that momentum into 2025, and with the rest of the Mets’ rotation still sorting itself out, the 32-year-old could find himself as one of the more dependable starters on the staff.
Sean Manaea’s contract fits a Mets team in win-now mode
It doesn’t take a baseball expert or a mathematician to see that Mets owner Steve Cohen has spent nearly $1 billion this offseason to build a 2025 team even better than the 2024 club that came within two games of the World Series. He already brought in Juan Soto on a $765 million deal, took ex-Yankees closer Clay Holmes and made him a starter, and the team remains a serious contender for Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman.
So it’s no surprise to see Manaea back with the Mets on any sort of deal — especially now that Luis Severino is with the Athletics.
Even with “only” Soto and Francisco Lindor anchoring the lineup and Kodai Senga on track to be back and healthy as a No. 1. starter, the Mets are on the short list of World Series favorites. Manaea gives New York the potential to have a lethal front end of the rotation as well.
The other side of it is that Lindor is 30, Senga is 31 and Alonso, if he returns as is widely expected, he will be entering his age 30 season. That won’t be a problem in 2025 but it gives the Mets a clear window of the next few years before those stars start exiting their primes. Cohen has invested heavily and the Mets are built to win right now.
Grading the Sean Manaea contract
If Manaea’s 2024 season was perfectly representative of his entire career, this contract would be a no-brainer A+, particularly for a team with the Mets’ resources. But it’s only fair that we zoom out a bit. Between 2022 and 2023 with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, he pitched to an 83 ERA+, clearly below league average. Before that, he pretty much alternated good and bad seasons for much of his career.
So there’s some risk. There’s also an element of unknown for us, the non-Mets staff and front office. We don’t know what they were able to unlock in Manaea that could give them confidence to proceed with a $75 million commitment. Giving them the benefit of the doubt but still acknowledging the relative risk, this contract appears to be a great one for both sides.
Sean Manaea contract grade: A-
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TODAY'S BEST
The 'Switch-hitter single-season HR leaders' quiz
Regardless of what happens in October, the summer of 2025 will be remembered as the summer of Cal Raleigh. Raleigh has smashed record after record this season, starting in August when he became the first catcher to hit 50 home runs in one season. On Tuesday – in his MLB-leading 10th multi-home run game of the season – he passed Mickey Mantle for the most home runs by a switch-hitter in a season with his 55th before tying Ken Griffey Jr. for the most home runs by a Mariner on his 56th against the Kansas City Royals. The most recent homers also came in a 12-5 win that marked 10-straight for the surging Mariners, who have finally overtaken the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. Which brings us to today’s quiz. A major league switch-hitter has hit at least 35 home runs on 35 occasions in MLB history. How many of the switch-hitters to reach that milestone can you name in five minutes? Good luck! Did you like this quiz? Are there any quizzes you’d like to see us make in the future? Let us know your thoughts at quizzes@yardbarker.com, and make sure to subscribe to our Quiz of the Day Newsletter for daily quizzes sent right to your email!
Bombshell report expands on culture issues within 0-2 Dolphins
A Wednesday report shared that the Miami Dolphins "did a lot of work in the offseason to try to transform their team culture" before they opened the ongoing campaign with back-to-back losses. For a lengthy piece published on Thursday, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN expanded on alleged culture issues that have impacted the Dolphins under head coach Mike McDaniel, who has been in his role since 2022. Mike McDaniel hasn't run a tight ship with Dolphins "Multiple sources in and around the team said tardiness was an issue throughout this past season," Louis-Jacques revealed. "...One current Dolphins player said he believed some captains this past season took advantage of the role. [Cornerback Jalen Ramsey] and wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who were two of the eight players voted captains in 2024, were among repeat offenders who received numerous fines throughout the season. Players were often late to practice and meetings, with multiple team sources suggesting it reflected a lack of respect for the first-time coach McDaniel -- who was hesitant to publicly admonish players outside of posting fines." On Wednesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler noted that Dolphins players "believe the culture is better after the franchise moved on from several key players, many of whom did not appear happy there." Specifically, Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith were traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a pick swap in June. Safety Jevon Holland left the Dolphins and signed with the New York Giants in free agency. As for Hill, questions about his dedication to the cause arose when he subbed himself out of Miami's regular-season finale and then told reporters that he was "out" this past January. He later publicly apologized for his actions but has remained the subject of trade rumors through September. Are McDaniel and Dolphins general manager Chris Grier on the hot seat? Whispers throughout the offseason suggested Dolphins owner Stephen Ross could part ways with McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier if the club finished this season without at least a playoff appearance. McDaniel has yet to guide the Dolphins to a single postseason win, and his team was coming off an 8-9 campaign before it dropped two straight games this month. "A source familiar with Ross' thinking told ESPN this offseason they don't believe McDaniel's and Grier's job security is as simple as 'playoffs or bust,' and reiterated that sentiment after Week 1," Louis-Jacques wrote. "...Although there is a limit to [Ross'] patience with the team's results. After a winless start to the 2025 season, and prime-time games against division opponents coming, there will be increased outside attention on how far Ross' patience will stretch." As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had the winless Dolphins as massive 11.5-point road underdogs for Thursday night's game at the 2-0 Buffalo Bills. One can't help but wonder how Ross may react if Miami gets blown out at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium.
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