Mets\u2019 2-1 loss<\/a>.<\/p>\nMaybe the worst is behind him. After an ugly April and beginning to May, he\u2019s pitched to a 3.12 ERA with eight strikeouts over his past three appearances, spanning 8 \u00b2\/\u2083 innings. Overall, he owns a 5.81 ERA in 11 appearances this season.<\/p>\n
In his latest outing, Manaea averaged 91.2 mph with his sinker. For the season he was averaging only 89.6 with that pitch. <\/p>\n
Manaea credited the work he\u2019s been putting in with assistant pitching coach Dan McKinney for paying dividends.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had some ideas on drills and mechanics and stuff we have kind of been implementing,\u201d Manaea said. \u201cBut I also think that having more reps, feeling good in my body physically and ultimately more [work] have put me in a good place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manaea was squeezed from the rotation near the end of spring training, with the possibility he would be utilized as a sixth starter. But after struggling early, he was essentially relegated to mop up relief.<\/p>\n
![\"Sean](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779611611_504_Sean-Manaea.jpg\")
Sean Manaea delivers a pitch during the Mets\u2019 loss to the Marlins on May 22, 2026 in Miami. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
His appearance in the second inning Friday, behind opener Tobias Myers, was among just a few higher-leverage opportunities this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s helping the team win, that is what I am here to do,\u201d Manaea said. \u201cIt was a higher-leverage situation than being in a game down six [runs] or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mets could use the continued contributions from Manaea, who isn\u2019t even halfway through the three-year contract worth $75 million he signed before last season. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Manaea\u2019s first year of the deal was a complete bust \u2014 he strained an oblique in spring training and didn\u2019t rejoin the club until July. In 15 appearances, he pitched to a 5.64 ERA.<\/p>\n
Manaea\u2019s best work with the Mets was in 2024, when he pitched to a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts and emerged as the de facto staff ace.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in a really good place,\u201d manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets\u2019 loss on Saturday. \u201cBeginning with that outing against the Yankees [on Sunday when he allowed two earned runs over four innings] it was a really good sign and then [Friday].<\/p>\n
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\u201cI thought just the way he is moving with his mechanics and the way the ball is coming out, I feel with like getting swings and misses with the fastball, especially at the top [of the strike zone] and just attacking, competing in the strike zone. There\u2019s a lot to like right now and it\u2019s good to see him being that guy, because we\u2019re going to need him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manaea was asked where he still feels there is need for improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just like nitpicking, but just keep attacking guys,\u201d Manaea said. \u201cNot getting two balls before a strike and stuff like that, but ultimately I feel like I am headed in the right direction and feel good with where we are at.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 Sean Manaea is feeling as if much of his mojo has returned. \u201cI feel like I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[5,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,3352,1268,185],"class_list":["post-707339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-mets","tag-baseball","tag-mets","tag-mlb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-mets","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkmets","tag-pitchers","tag-sean-manaea","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116628632598872659","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}