When you collapse as badly as the New York Mets did in the second half of this season, you end up with a lot of candidates to have a bounce-back year. The problem with that theory at the moment is that GM David Stearns is currently getting rid of as many of them as he can, so the list dwindles with each passing week.
Which brings us to left-handed starter Sean Manaea, who was chosen by Anthony DiComo of MLB .com as the Mets candidates for that return to form. He certainly does qualify based on his bad performance.
Manaea started his season with an injury in spring training, straining his right oblique muscle. During his rehab, he then discovered he was dealing with loose bodies in his left elbow, which put him back on the shelf until July. His ERA after that was 5.64, so the Mets aren’t exactly brimming with confidence that he’s a great comeback candidate.
Then there’s the money part of the equation. Manaea is going into the second season of a three-year, $75 million deal he signed last offseason, so there’s a financial commitment here that’s tough to ignore. Manaea has stated that his elbow is fine and he’s ready to return to the form that got him the big contract in the first place.
Don’t expect the Mets to buy in on all this, though, financially or otherwise. They tried Manaea in a relief role when they desperate needed pitching in the last couple of weeks, so the Mets put him back in the rotation, only to watch him to fail again.
That makes Manaea a trade candidate, sort of. Any deal Stearns is able to make involving Manaea will also come with the Mets paying someone to take him off their hands, just as they did with second baseman Jeff McNeil.
Stearns has basically had it with allowing players like Manaea to lose games, so the most logical step here is that he returns to a relief role. If he can perform well in that role, the Mets might be able to draw interest in a deadline deal, with the same caveat that the Mets will have to pay the left-hander to go away.
Is there a chance that Manaea can make a comeback as a reliever? Sure. The physical tools are there, and he’s done it before, so if he’s healthy it’s possible. He’s not getting back in the rotation, though, so that’s where a parting of the ways will likely happen.