Sean Manaea, the pitcher for the New York Mets, and the team reached a two-year, $28 million agreement on Sunday.
The agreement contains an opt-out after the 2024 season, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Manaea played both starting and relief for the San Francisco Giants during the 2023 season. He pitched 117.2 innings and finished 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, striking out 128 batters.
Given the Mets’ need for help with starting pitching and Manaea’s track record as a starter, the shift to the bullpen will almost probably end in New York. Manaea has only made three relief appearances in San Francisco prior to the previous season. Despite having a rough start to the 2023 season, Manaea was back in the rotation before the conclusion of the year and had his best month of the year in September thanks to the transfer.
After their terrible 2023 season, the Mets are predicted to have another season full of growing pains this year. The expensive roster owned by Steve Cohen let him down right away, which resulted in the midseason exodus of veterans and a 75-87 record. With Manaea being the only player the Mets have signed to a contract longer than a year, Cohen has adopted a significantly more cautious approach this offseason.
Manaea will be the second starting pitcher the Mets signed in the summer, after Luis Severino. In addition, they are the team’s highest-paid new additions thus far; the only other player to receive eight figures in guarantees is outfielder Harrison Bader.
In contrast, the Mets signed four players to deals worth at least $75 million and seven players to deals worth at least $10 million during the previous summer.