Are we really all that surprised? Pitchers aren’t always viewed as leaders because there tends to be a divide between them and the position players. A guy like Francisco Lindor is as injected as anyone on the New York Mets roster into every play. He’s the leader on the infield defensively. He’s the team’s leadoff hitter. A mouse can’t sneeze in the bowels of Citi Field without him knowing about it.
What we don’t hear or see enough about is when pitchers mentor each other. Sean Manea has taken it upon himself to behave the way football fans sometimes ask a veteran quarterback to. While just in the first of a three-year contract worth $25 million per year, he isn’t behaving smug or fearful of someone taking his spot or role on the roster. The best example came from how he guided Jonah Tong after his disastrous start versus the Texas Rangers.
Sean Manaea took Jonah Tong aside in the dugout after his rough start against the Rangers, as @SteveGelbs tells
Manaea pointed across the field to Jacob deGrom on the mound and said: “He’s gone through that as well. Just keep doing what you’re doing.” pic.twitter.com/WWQrUCKuYI
https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1968743348081926250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Manaea isn’t having the best season with a recent bump from the rotation. He sees the big picture. With the birth of a baby on the way (if not already here), the 33-year-old has done the mature thing. The Mets will benefit.
Sean Manaea isn’t letting his bad year stop him from being important to the Mets in any way he can
Some of the peripherals on Manaea’s season haven’t been all that bad. Just 1.6 BB/9 and 11.1 K/9, it’s astonishing to those who haven’t observed his actual performances to see a 5.40 ERA that only recently sank after 5 strong innings of relief earlier this week. Manaea hasn’t been a complete disaster. His issue has been an inability to give the team length and a great fall-off around mid-game.
The OPS against him goes from .617 on pitches 1-25 to .639 on pitches 26-49. Disaster strikes on the next 25. Hitters have a 1.083 OPS in that range.
He’s not the only Mets pitcher suffering a similar fate. In fact, because so many other starters have faltered in similar fashion, it has set them up well to pair off the starters like they did with Manaea and Clay Holmes this past week.
Accepting the role like a champ was an important sign although we already expected most players, if not all, to happily take on any challenge. Manaea has always been professional since joining the Mets last year. As down as he could be feeling about his performance and as set as he is for the rest of his life financially, it takes a pair of custom-made big boy pants for him to take a pitcher like Tong under his wings.
Questions about the Mets’ leadership within the players seem to be a talking point every year, at the very least on social media. It’s all speculative. What’s certain is the Mets have someone speaking up and leading the pitchers.
Last year’s pitching staff had a very clear comradery with Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana as three veterans leading the way. Manaea is back again and doesn’t seem to have lost a step in terms of what it takes to be a positive presence within the locker room. The Mets aren’t paying him to have an ego. They handed him $75 million to win them games. Incapable of doing so each day, he found a way to have an impact even beyond the length of his contract.
