Mets Are Looking to Ride “Ace” Sean Manaea Down the Stretch

Prior to spring training, if there was an ace the New York Mets expected to ride into the playoffs, it was Kodai Senga. Coming off a season where he finished seventh in the Cy Young voting, and runner-up in Rookie of the Year, Senga was the clear ace of the Mets staff.

Unfortunately a shoulder injury landed him on the 60-day IL to start the season, keeping him off the field until just before the trade deadline.

Tonight, Manaea will take the mound to pitch against the Cincinnati Reds in front of what is sure to be a packed crowd at Cit Field. Manaea’s original turn to pitch would have been Saturday, but with an off-day on Thursday, the Mets opted to keep their new left-handed starter on regular rest.

This decision shows that the Mets truly believe they have an ace in the building with Manaea, one that they are looking to ride into the playoffs and maybe even on a deeper playoff run after that.

How Sean Manaea Became the Mets Ace

Sean Manaea has taken the ball 27 times for the New York Mets. They are 19-8 in those games.

For those trying to do the math at home, that’s a .704 winning percentage when Manaea is on the hill. Do you now understand why the Mets are looking to get as many of his starts as possible down the stretch?

Manaea has pitched to a 3.35 ERA this year across 150 2/3 innings pitched. Among other qualified National League starters, Manaea is seventh in ERA and WHIP (1.12), 12th in strikeouts (154), eighth in wins (11) and 16th in innings pitched.

If he continues to pitch well down the stretch, those are numbers that could get him some down-ballot Cy Young votes. What has been especially impressive about Manaea though, is that he has gotten stronger as the season has wore on.

At the beginning of this season, Manaea flashed brilliance, but could sometimes be erratic. Across his first 15 starts, Manaea walked three or more batters six times. He only completed six innings three times across that span.

Then on July 2nd, something clicked and Manaea completed seven innings for the first time in a start against the Washington Nationals. He would finish seven two more times in July, with his last start of the month being a seven-inning, 11-strikeout performance against the Twins, where he allowed just two hits and no runs.

This was the beginning of a stretch for Manaea where he has pitched into the seventh inning six times over his past seven starts, completing the frame in all but one of those occasions.

Across that seven-start span, Manaea has pitched to a 2.42 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings pitched. The 33-year-old has also slashed his WHIP to 0.78 during this span.

Manaea’s WHIP is the best mark in baseball over that period of time, while his 2.42 ERA trails only teammate David Peterson (1.81), Blake Snell (1.83) and Chris Sale (1.87). Manaea and Peterson only trail Logan Webb in innings pitched as well since July 30th.

Over his past three starts, Manaea has carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning twice, showcasing the stuff of an ace any team would like to ride when the games matter the most. This is why the Mets have changed up their rotation order to keep their best pitcher on regular rest from here on out.

How the Mets Plan to Use Manaea Down the Stretch

Last weekend, Manaea and Jose Quintana each pitched in back-to-back days in the Mets series against the lowly Chicago White Sox. Quintana pitched on Saturday, then Manaea took the hill on Sunday, where he posted seven shutout innings to close out a series sweep.

Technically it was Quintana’s turn to pitch tonight, but instead the Mets are opting to keep Manaea on regular rest, flipping him in the rotation with Quintana. This has real ramifications for how the Mets line things up across their final 22 games of the season.

Over the next 10 days, the Mets will play a three-game set against the Reds at home, three in Toronto against the Blue Jays and then they head to Philadelphia to face their division rival, the NL East-leading Phillies.

By starting Manaea to open up this stretch, the Mets have taken him out of the series in Philly, as he will pitch the final game of the next series in Toronto instead. Why would they do that?

The answer is what lies beyond this 10-game stretch, in their final 12 games of the season.

New York will have an off-day between their series in Toronto and the one in Philadelphia. If the Mets wanted to, they could opt to pitch Manaea on regular rest again on Monday, September 16th, against the Washington Nationals, as he would open up their final homestand of the season.

The following start for Manaea would come on Saturday, September 21st, the third game of the Mets four-game set against the Phillies at Citi Field. With an off-day on Monday, September 23rd, the Mets could again pitch Manaea on regular rest on Thursday, September 26th.

What is the significance of that game you ask?

That will be the Mets final game of the season against the Atlanta Braves. A contest that could very well decide their fate in the NL Wild Card race. If the Mets have a great next few weeks, there is a world where they could clinch a playoff spot in that game.

In a world where things don’t go as well, Manaea could be making that start for the Mets to stave off elimination. No one knows how this story ends, but the Mets are clearly hoping that Manaea could be their ticket to writing a great one for their fans.

If the Mets do make the Wild Card, Manaea would be in line to pitch on regular rest yet again on October 1st, which would just so happen to be Game 1 of the Wild Card round.

With 22 games left to play, the Mets probably aren’t getting that far ahead of themselves to be planning for Game 1 of the Wild Card round now. Still, shifting their rotation order does say something about how the Mets front office is viewing Manaea.

The Mets will make a lot of decisions down the stretch as they look to finish off this great turnaround season so that it ends in October. One of the big ones was made for tonight’s game.

By keeping Manaea on regular rest, they have clearly established an ace that they believe in. One that they hope can carry them across his final five starts and maybe in a few more after that.