PORT ST. LUCIE — For the last three years, the Mets have talked about using a six-man rotation, only to see the plan thwarted by an injured pitcher or a pitcher they had to take out of the rotation. Now, as they get ready to break camp ahead of the 2026 season, they have six healthy starters, but the early schedule isn’t favorable for using all six consecutively.

The solution is to have left-hander Sean Manaea pitch in a piggyback role for the first two turns in the rotation. It’s not ideal, but a six-man rotation might not be either.

“We have six guys throwing the ball really well, and we were pretty honest with all of them at the beginning of camp that if everyone was healthy, we’d have to make some tough decisions,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday at Clover Park. “One of them was going to be pitching that type of role.”

Manaea is probably the most adaptable of the six starters, especially since he’s pitched out of the bullpen in the past. With such a precise routine, Kodai Senga isn’t very adaptable. The team doesn’t want to disrupt Clay Holmes in his second season as a starter or the relatively inexperienced Nolan McLean. That left the two lefties, Manaea and David Peterson.

Freddy Peralta, the staff ace and the Opening Day starter, was not considered.

“Because of the schedule and the off days, we don’t feel like we need that sixth starter yet,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to make starts for us — this is just a couple times through, making sure guys get into their routine.”

The Mets still see him as a starter. The 34-year-old signed with the Mets as a starter in 2024, then re-signed again before the 2025 season, again as a starting pitcher. Manaea has been open about saying he doesn’t particularly care for the unpredictability of relief pitching, but that he’s willing to do what is best for the team. There was no pushback from the Indiana native when the Mets informed him of the decision, though admittedly, he wasn’t exactly happy about it.

“I consider myself a starter, and to not be that is frustrating,” Manaea said. “But at the end of the day, I’m just going to do the work in whatever facet that is.”

This isn’t a long-term solution, but Manaea and the Mets will have to figure out a way to keep him stretched out. Pitching in a piggyback role could mean only pitching three or four innings. At the moment, he’s stretched out to throw 65 pitches, but once he’s added back into the rotation, he’ll need to be over that threshold. Manaea expects some trial and error when figuring out how to stay on a consistent work schedule. It’s going to be challenging for the Mets to figure out how and when to use him in this role, while making sure he doesn’t get too far away from a regular routine.

It could mean throwing extra pitches in the bullpen after those piggyback outings, even if that’s not the most effective way to get his pitch count up.

“I hope that’s not the case, I don’t really like doing that,” Manaea said. “It’s just so much different actually pitching in the game. But, yeah, if that’s what I’ve got to do, then I’ll do it.”

After spending much of last season on the injured list with a right oblique strain and a loose body in his left elbow, Manaea had a full, healthy spring and has continually said his body and his arm have felt great throughout.

Last season, Manaea made only 15 appearances (12 starts), going 2-4 with a 5.64 ERA and a 4.39 FIP.

Manaea, who has posted a 3.72 ERA in three spring starts, is set to face McLean in Monday’s intrasquad game. After that, he isn’t quite sure when he’ll pitch next, which is an uncomfortable situation for any starting pitcher, given that the position requires them to be so routine-oriented.

The velocity on his fastball was down to about 90-91 from 91-92 a year prior. This spring, his fastball has been sitting around 89, which is why he’s added a cutter back into his pitch mix. Manaea is still confident he can be effective without velocity, but that he’ll be able to get it back up early in the season. The Mets insist this decision was not made because of diminished velocity.

After Peralta makes his Opening Day start at Citi Field on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Peterson will pitch the second game, and McLean will close out the series. Holmes will open the series in St. Louis against the Cardinals, followed by Senga, then Peralta in the third game.