Manaea was cleared to play catch earlier this week after an MRI on his right oblique was negative, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
With his oblique strain healed, the left-hander has begun his throwing progression. Manaea will need several weeks to get fully stretched out, but he could be ready to make his season debut sometime in April.
Mets' Sean Manaea: Bound for IL with oblique strain
Rotowire
Manaea has been diagnosed with a right oblique strain and is expected to begin the season on the 15-day injured list, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
Manaea will be shut down for a couple weeks before being re-evaluated, but even in a best-case scenario he will not have time to be built back up for Opening Day. It's another blow to the Mets' starting pitching depth after it was revealed last week that Frankie Montas has a right lat strain. The club has been planning to deploy a six-man rotation early in the season, but it might now have to rethink that strategy.
Manaea agreed to a three-year, $75 million contract with the Mets on Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
After posting a 4.73 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 67 appearances (38 starts) between the Padres and Giants during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, Manaea bounced back during his first season with the Mets last year, generating a 3.47 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 184:63 K:BB while pitching a career-high 181.2 innings across 32 regular-season starts. He'll return to the Mets and be part of a pitching staff that has already added Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes during the offseason. Manaea will be a front-end starter for a team that reached the NLCS in 2024 and enters the 2025 season with lofty aspirations after signing Juan Soto to a record-breaking deal in early December.
