Sean Manaea has turned the back half of his season into a legit redemption run, and the Mets could use a few more guys to follow his lead.
Since shifting into the starting rotation, Manaea has made 11 starts and posted a 3.50 ERA. On Sunday, he backed that up with 7 innings and 11 strikeouts, another outing that makes it harder to treat this as a fluke.
He may not be an ace, but he’s giving the Mets exactly the kind of steady, upward-trending production they signed him for. Like in 2024, he’s gotten better as the year has gone on.
That matters because Manaea is starting to look like the rare Mets player who can be penciled in for a meaningful role next season. Financially, he may not match what the team wants to spend.
Statistically, though, it’s tough to ask for much more than what he’s providing right now. So while his name might have once belonged on a list of offseason trade or cut candidates, he may have already played his way out of that conversation.
The bigger question is which other Mets can finish strong enough to change the mood around this roster. Three in particular need to join him.
Bo Bichette is the first name on that list, even if his future in New York is still up in the air. If he were to walk away from $55.3 million ($42 million on the luxury tax), that would be a bold gamble.
A strong finish could push teams toward a new deal, and it would also give Bichette a chance at an even bigger contract. He won’t turn 29 until early March next year, so there’s no reason for free agency to be the immediate priority.
He’s shown flashes of looking like his Toronto Blue Jays version of himself, but inconsistency has kept the season from truly turning around. The Mets would gladly take more extra-base hits, and days like his 5-hit performance on Sunday.
Marcus Semien is another player who needs to end on a better note. What he’s done at the plate is close to what should have been expected from him from the start: enough pop for 15-20 home runs and a batting average that hovers around .230, which lines up with what he had been doing with the Texas Rangers.
The defense, though, feels more likely to swing back than the offense. His OPS was under .600 as recently as July 25th, and nobody is lining up to issue an apology to Semien or David Stearns for how the year has unfolded.
He’s an aging, declining player, and his 2027 and 2028 seasons could get ugly fast. Even if he’s going to stay in the lineup near the bottom, the Mets need him to finish with some competence - and maybe a little hope that next year looks better.
Then there’s Devin Williams, who needs the kind of clean finish that helps the Mets sort out the bullpen picture. Jorge Polanco does not need to catch fire, and in fact that might create the wrong kind of optimism.
The bigger need is for Williams to settle in and throw clean innings the rest of the way. He was rumored to be the Mets’ intended setup man this season, with a plan to re-sign Edwin Diaz.
That path could have gone badly, but it does suggest David Stearns would be willing to move Williams into an eighth-inning role if the club adds a better closer. The Mets never made the in-season switch from Williams to Luke Weaver, likely because they wanted to protect Weaver’s trade value while continuing to evaluate Williams.
Williams is coming back, and the Mets should at least have enough confidence that they can find a Weaver-type or some extra closer insurance.
In Other News...
Mets Roster Crunch Is Putting 3 Familiar Names On Shaky Ground
The Mets are facing one of those late-summer roster questions that never stays tucked away for long, and this one centers on three familiar names whose futures are suddenly a lot less certain. Ronny Mauricio, Tobias Myers and Dedniel Nunez all sit in different spots on the depth-chart spectrum, but each comes with the same basic complication: the Mets have to keep sorting out who still fits, who can be tucked away, and who may be squeezed out as the roster picture gets tighter.
Mauricios case is especially tricky because his Triple-A production has stood out more than his big league work, while Myers has flashed enough to stay in the conversation without making the decision easy. Nunez adds another layer after his rehab assignment, with age and timing working against him in a system that has to account for every move. For the front office, the challenge is not just evaluating talent, but figuring out which of these players can realistically survive the next round of roster math. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Pitching Plan Just Took A Turn Fans Will Notice
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Andy Green also said Robert Stock will stay in the rotation even after a rough outing in Pittsburgh, which gives the Mets at least a little clarity in one spot. For a team chasing consistency, the decision signals patience with a veteran arm while the rest of the pitching picture continues to shift around him. [Read more 🡒]
Francisco Alvarez Is Suddenly At The Center Of A Mets Debate
After moving several veteran pieces at the trade deadline, the Mets made clear they were willing to take a step back now in hopes of being in position to compete again by 2027. Francisco Alvarez, though, stayed put, and that decision stood out because the young catcher remains one of the few established long-term pieces on a roster that suddenly looks more transitional than fixed.
Alvarezs future is already inviting speculation because the Mets have him under contract control through 2029, which gives them leverage if they decide to listen. That is where the offseason conversation starts to get interesting, especially with the Padres looking at their own catching picture and prospect depth, including Ethan Salas, as they sort through what comes next behind the plate. [Read more 🡒]