Mets left-hander Sean Manaea started the season on the 15-day injured list due to a right oblique strain but he’ll need more time than that to rejoin the club. Manager Carlos Mendoza today told reporters, including Tim Healey of Newsday, that the southpaw suffered a setback in his rehab. He got a platelet-rich plasma injection and will be shut down for another two weeks. Even if he’s healthy after that shutdown period, he’ll need a full ramp-up after that, meaning the best-case scenario is a return in late May or early June.
That’s obviously less than ideal news for the Mets. Manaea gave them 32 starts last year with a 3.87 earned run average. He logged 181 2/3 innings with a 24.9% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. The club liked his performance enough to re-sign him via a three-year, $75MM deal, though with some notable deferrals.
So far, they’ve received nothing for that investment. Manaea was diagnosed with his oblique injury in late February and missed the entire spring. He’s already missed a few days of the regular season and his absence will extend for several more weeks.
He’s one of several starters currently on the shelf. Christian Scott had Tommy John surgery in September of last year and will most likely miss the entire 2025 season. Frankie Montas is out with a lat strain and still isn’t throwing. Paul Blackburn also started the season on the injured list due, in his case due to right knee inflammation.
The Mets have started the season with Clay Holmes, Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning and David Peterson starting the first four contests. Kodai Senga is scheduled to start tonight. That rotation will have to do for the time being, as it doesn’t appear any of Manaea, Montas or Blackburn are close to a return.
If another injury should pop up before anyone in that group can make it back, Justin Hagenman is on the 40-man roster. Prospects like Brandon Sproat and Blade Tidwell aren’t yet on the roster but are pitching in Triple-A to start this year.
One small silver lining of Manaea’s delay is that the Mets could now transfer him to the 60-day injured list, as such a move would still allow him to be activated in late May. That will give the club an extra 40-man roster spot to use on selecting a player from the minors or perhaps grabbing someone off waivers. Their 40-man count is currently at 38, however, so they won’t need to make a call on Manaea until they make a few more roster moves.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
