Sean

Manaea

David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea would seem to be the Mets’ rotation for the moment, with prospects Jonah Tong, Christian Scott, Brandon Sproat and journeyman Cooper Criswell in reserve. Depth is nice, but getting a true upgrade is going to be expensive. It’s already possible that one or two of those prospects are better than the team’s veterans.

Good news. It seems like Manaea is being written off by some after his oblique and elbow issues and his 5.64 ERA last season, but he had an exceptional 75/12 K/BB in 60 2/3 innings while healthy. Assuming that he has a spot in the Mets rotation, he’ll make a lot of sense as a late-round pick in mixed leagues.

Manaea was expected to require offseason surgery to remove loose bodies from his pitching elbow, but there’s some optimism he’ll avoid a procedure after finishing the regular season feeling healthy. The 33-year-old lefty finished a disappointing, injury-marred campaign with a bloated 5.64 ERA across 60 2/3 innings over 15 appearances (12 starts).

Manaea recorded three of his five outs via the strikeout in the ballgame. Playing for their playoff life though, the Mets were trying to pull out all of the stops and rely heavily on their bullpen in this one, so after Manaea issued his second walk of the inning he got the quick hook. The 33-year-old southpaw finishes the season with a 5.64 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 75/12 K/BB ratio over 60 2/3 innings in his 15 appearances.

The Mets did their part on Saturday, defeating the Marlins 5-0 to keep their Wild Card hopes alive. Their hopes now rest on Manaea on Sunday, though they’ll also need the Reds to lose at least once — either on Saturday night or on Sunday against the Brewers. The 33-year-old southpaw holds a 5.80 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 72/10 K/BB ratio over 59 innings in 14 appearances (11 starts) for the Mets this season.

Manaea struck out three and walked none, but three of the four hits he gave up came in the second, with the third being a homer. Manaea opened the fourth, but he was replaced by Holmes after a Pete Alonso error to start the inning. With the Mets limited to two runs today, Manaea fell to 2-4. He’ll likely pitch in some capacity next weekend against the Marlins and isn’t a bad play then, especially if he winds up being used as a bulk guy.

Manaea draws the starting assignment for Sunday’s series finale against the Nationals with Clay Holmes to follow in a piggyback role. The limited workload eliminates his fantasy appeal outside of deeper mixed leagues. The 33-year-old southpaw has pitched well earlier this week in a five-inning relief outing against the Padres, which is a good sign for the Mets heading towards the postseason.

Manaea will be followed by Clay Holmes in a piggyback outing. The 33-year-old southpaw was removed from New York’s rotation earlier this month, but has pitched well in relief ever since. He’ll he activated from paternity leave to take the ball for Sunday’s pivotal showdown.

Congrats to Sean and his growing family. The left-hander pitched five innings of relief on Tuesday, so he was unlikely to pitch again until Sunday at the earliest. He will miss one to three days while out on paternity leave.

Handed an opportunity to pick up one of the easiest wins of his career, Manaea took over with an 8-2 lead after four and finished the game from there. He struck out four and walked none, adding to his impressive 68/10 K/BB through 55 innings. He’ll still be worth playing in mixed leagues against the Nationals on Sunday, whether he’s starting or, even better, again serving as a long man.