Sean Manaea (Image Credits: Imagn)

'It Is Frustrating' – Sean Manaea Gives His Honest Opinion on New Role in Mets’ Opening Day Roster

Originally posted on Total Pro Sports
By Paranjoy Goswami | Last updated Mar 22, 2026 9:16 AM ET

Sean Manaea made a huge impact on the New York Mets upon his arrival to the team ahead of the 2024 season. However, he spent most of the 2025 campaign on the IL and struggled on the mound following his return for the Mets. Manaea had a late start to his spring training camp this year, and his fastball velocity showed a worrying decline in velocity.

On Saturday, the New York Mets announced that Sean Manaea will start the 2026 season in a piggyback role for their bullpen. The 34-year-old left-hander is going to pitch multiple innings as a reliever for a starter when required. Manaea expressed disappointment about his new role for the team but promised to give his best regardless of the Mets’ decision.

“I consider myself a starter, but to not be that is frustrating,” Manaea told SNY. “But at the end of the day, I’m just gonna let my pitching do the work in whatever capacity that is.

"We've got six very, very good starting pitchers. I'm still pitching in the big leagues, so I can't complain about anything."

– Sean Manaea on his role in the Mets' pitching staff pic.twitter.com/hEYZ1VP21T
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 21, 2026

“We’ve got six very, very good starting pitchers,” he added. “I’m still pitching in the big leagues, so I can’t complain about anything.”

So far, Manaea has three spring training starts under his belt, with four scoreless innings on his last outing on Tuesday. However, his fastball velocity only averaged in the upper 80s. This continues a steady dip from 93.8 mph in 2023 to 91.7 in 2025.

Mets Manager on Exclusion of Sean Manaea from Starting Rotation

The sharp dip in the fastball velocity for Sean Manaea is not yet concerning New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. He is pleased with the performance of all his starting pitchers. Mendoza stated that Manaea is unfortunate to be the odd man out who did not get a spot in the Mets’ five-man starting rotation.

“Six guys throwing the ball really well,” Mendoza said. “And we were pretty honest with all of them at the beginning of camp. If everyone was healthy, we were going to have to make some tough decisions and one of them was going to be pitching in that type of role.”

The Mets plan to use Sean Manaea in a piggyback role to begin the season

Carlos Mendoza explains the decision: pic.twitter.com/xvzevk06Q2
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 21, 2026

Freddy Peralta, David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and Kodai Senga will form the five-man rotation for the Mets on their Opening Day roster. Meanwhile, with the three-year, $75 million contract with the team last year, Sean Manaea technically becomes the highest-paid reliever in MLB.

This article first appeared on Total Pro Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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