Mets’ Sean Manaea Strikes Out Seven in Return From IL
Though it may have been in losing fashion, left-hander Sean Manaea set the tone for what he hopes will be a return-to-form performance in the second half.
Activated from the 60-day injured list prior to first pitch, Manaea made his long-awaited season debut during Sunday’s series finale in Kansas City versus the Royals. But rather than starting, the veteran southpaw entered in relief of right-hander Clay Holmes, who departed after allowing two runs over five innings.
Despite surrendering a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth, it was a remarkable return for Manaea, as he punched out seven – including five straight at one point – across 3.1 innings of relief on 65 pitches (44 strikes).
“It feels really good to be back and to be healthy,” Manaea told reporters, including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, of his first major league start since last post-season. “Everything felt really good.”
The 33-year-old, who returned to the Mets on a three-year, $75-million contract last off-season, threw his four-seamer 66 percent of the time, with it averaging its usual 93 mph and touching 94.4. Four of his seven strikeouts were recorded via his heater, inducing 10 whiffs on 22 swings (45 percent).
Manaea also threw his sweeper nearly a third of the time, which generated his other three punchouts, including a trio of whiffs on seven swings.
“Typical Sean Manaea,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Fastball playing at the top of the zone and getting swings and misses. The sweeper was really good. We saw that the whole year [in 2024], and it was good to see it again today.”
The Mets ended up losing 3-2 in their final game before the All-Star break, with Nick Loftin singling off Manaea to drive in the winning run from second base. However, the 6-foot-5 hurler’s impressive return brings plenty of optimism regarding the club’s rotation out of the break.
Oblique and elbow injuries caused Manaea to miss all but one of New York’s 97 first-half games after opening the season on the IL. He made six rehab appearances prior to Sunday’s return, three at High-A, one at Double-A and his final two at Triple-A, posting a 6.27 ERA with five walks and 23 strikeouts.
His final rehab start came on July 8th with the Syracuse Mets, where he allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five over 3.2 innings.
Manaea thrived in his inaugural campaign in Queens last season, pitching to a career-best 3.47 ERA and 3.83 FIP in 32 starts, tying a single-season career high. He also racked up 184 strikeouts, the second-most of his career, while accounting for 2.8 fWAR.
Mendoza has yet to reveal the club’s rotation plans to begin the second half, saying he expects those decisions to be made in the coming days. The good news is that they now have plenty of options to choose from, as their entire staff is healthy again, with Kodai Senga also returning from the IL in Kansas City over the weekend.
Coming out of the break, the Mets will begin the second half trailing the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies by half a game, setting the stage for an ultra-competitive race to the finish the rest of the way.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: slgckgc. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.