This one had tentatively felt on the way for a while now, as the kind of deal Sean Manaea could get to return to the New York Mets was probably always going to be higher than some other club was going to be willing to spend, given the attachment of draft pick compensation.
So, the 32-year-old lefty, who was quite good with the Mets in 2024, gets a significant deal to return:
BREAKING OVERNIGHT: Manaea to Mets, 75M, 3yrs pending physical
— Jon Heyman (@jonheyman.bsky.social) December 23, 2024 at 6:34 AM
That’s a deal that makes sense, I suppose, in the overcooked starting pitcher market, and Manaea’s 2024 season was certainly commensurate with that kind of value. I guess I just think about how, in the four years prior to 2024, Manaea’s ERA was 9% worse than league average by ERA-. Which guy are you getting for his age 33-35 seasons at $25 million a pop?
But the Mets have plenty of money thanks to the largesse of team owner Steve Cohen, and with a monstrous commitment to Juan Soto, they have no excuse for not filling out the rotation as best as possible. Getting Manaea back, when he had success as a Met, makes sense. Good on Manaea’s reps for squeezing.
We’ll see whether this pushes any more of the pitching market before Christmas, or in the partial week between Christmas and New Year’s. We know the Cubs are looking, and, while they wouldn’t have been in on Manaea, you never know when there might’ve been overlapping suitors with other guys of interest to the Cubs.
(In this tier of pitcher, how good is Jameson Taillon’s two years and $36 million looking right about now? Taillon is the same age as Manaea, and is in roughly the same performance group – but Taillon was better in 2024, and also better in that four-year window before it. Not comparing the pitchers, mind you, just thinking about what Taillon’s free agency would look like right about now. I’m glad the Cubs have him.)
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