The New York Mets (76-69) have fallen completely out of the NL East race in the second half and after a 9-3 loss on Tuesday, the Philadelphia Phillies have a nine-game division lead.
The Mets fell into an early deficit after starting pitcher Sean Manaea allowed two runs in the first inning after a Nick Castellanos double, and two more in the second inning after Otto Kemp and Harrison Bader hit back-to-back home runs.
After looking defeated following a disastrous first two innings, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pulled Manaea into the dugout tunnel for a talk and the left-hander went on to pitch three scoreless innings. However, the damage was done and Manaea suffered his third loss of the season.
It has been an extremely difficult stretch for Manaea, now in the second year of a three-year, $75 million deal signed last offseason. The 33-year-old veteran has posted a 5.76 ERA in 11 appearances this year, and while he has continued to strike out opposing hitters at a high rate (64 strikeouts in 50 innings), he is no longer limiting hard contact like he was in 2024.
With calls mounting for New York to move Manaea out of the rotation, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Manaea will make his next start and the organization is not considering a role change at this time.
“Sean Manaea will make his next start, Carlos Mendoza said. The Mets are not considering a role change at this time,” wrote MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.
This development comes just days after the Mets sent Kodai Senga to Triple-A in an attempt to refine his mechanics before returning to the big-league roster, showing that the Mets are capable of sending struggling veterans down—but this does not appear to be the case for Manaea for now.
Mendoza’s confidence in Manaea may be partially attributed to his flashes of dominance during the 2024 postseason that helped lead New York to an NLCS appearance. With the NL East crown extremely unlikely, the Mets will look to hold on to the final NL wild card spot.
