If there’s a single pitcher who symbolized the New York Mets’ disastrous second-half collapse last year, it was starter Sean Manaea. The Mets gave him a three-year, $75 million deal to lead the rotation prior to the season, and the results were poor, to say the least. Manaea struggled with injuries that included a strained right oblique and loose bodies in his elbow, and he was unable to give the rotation a boost when he returned in September.
Manaea has been pitching on the back fields so far in spring training, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, but yesterday he returned to the spotlight against the Miami Marlins, pitching three solid innings. The only blemish on his line was a solo home run in the first by Connor Norby, but Manaea responded by shutting down the Marlins and allowing just a single hit after that.
Manaea impressed his manager, Carlos Mendoza, by showing some movement in his pitches and using a full array of pitches.
“I liked what I saw, especially that cutter in to righties,” Mendoza said. “He had movement just enough to get off the barrel. I like how he used all of his pitches. Three innings of work and 33 pitches.”
This doesn’t mean much in the big picture, but it was important for Manaea to get off to a good start. Like nearly every other pitcher in spring training, the focus is on getting his work in, throwing strikes and coming out healthy on the other end, with thie last being especially important to Manaea.
“I felt healthy. For the most part, I was throwing strikes,” Manaea said. “It was nice to face some hitters other than your teammates. We were using [my teammates] in a game setting.”
Manaea’s velocity was down, according to Ladson, with a drop in his four-seam fastball from the low 90s to 89 mph. That’s not unusual for spring training, but it was for Manaea.
“It was a little weird. It’s only spring training. I feel healthy. I’m not worried about it,” Manaea said.
Mendoza didn’t make much of that, or anything else besides the movement and the relative economy of Manaea’s pitch count. No one really knows what role Manaea will have this year, and the back half of the rotation remains cluttered with pitchers whose role is also a mystery.
Before spring training it felt like GM David Stearns was ready to make some kind of move involving Manaea or Kodai Senga, and possibly even Clay Holmes or David Peterson, but they’re all still on the roster to date.
Said Mendoza, “I’m not going to make too much out of the first start. I like the movement on his pitches. He says he feels really good physically. I’m not concerned.”