JUPITER, Fla. -- To be clear, Sean Manaea says, he is fully healthy. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza agrees. But Manaea’s fastball velocity, a note of concern following his Grapefruit League debut Friday, is rapidly becoming a talking point.
Manaea averaged 88.8 mph on his fastball in his second outing during Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, topping out at 90.4. He averaged 88.4 mph on that pitch during his debut outing, and while these are merely exhibition games, spring velocity hasn’t been a problem for Manaea in the past. Two years ago, before his breakout season with the Mets, Manaea averaged 93.1 mph on his four-seamer during Grapefruit League play.
That’s where he’d like to be by the end of Spring Training.
“I know it’s going to be a topic here,” Mendoza said. “I’m not concerned as long as he keeps telling us that he’s healthy. And that’s what he keeps telling us: ‘I feel great.’ Look, it might take a while for the velo to come back, and that’s why he’s tinkering with the cutter. The changeup is good, the sweeper. He went through a lot last year. And now it’s finding the mechanics, the arm slot. There’s a lot going on.”
Last season, Manaea did not appear in any Grapefruit League games due to a right oblique issue that cropped up early in camp. During his rehab, Manaea discovered a loose body in his left elbow that kept him out until mid-July. When he returned, Manaea largely struggled, going 2-4 with a 5.64 ERA over 12 starts and three relief appearances. He averaged 91.7 mph on his fastball over that stretch, down about half a mile per hour from the season before.
Manaea never had his elbow surgically repaired because he finished the season feeling completely healthy. Asked directly if the loose body might be causing Manaea’s current velocity woes, Mendoza instead pointed to the left-hander’s nearly year-old oblique issue as the possible root cause of some mechanical issues that still aren’t fixed. In addition, Manaea is working on slightly raising his arm slot, which could also be contributing to the velocity drop.
“I think it’s just getting more reps,” Manaea said. “Other than that, I don’t have any explanation.”
Manaea is entering the second season of a three-year, $75 million contract. Even if Mets officials are more concerned about Manaea’s velocity than they’re letting on, they don’t consider his rotation spot in jeopardy. He should be part of a six-man rotation when the season begins on March 26.
By that point, the hope of everyone around Flushing is that Manaea’s velocity will have returned.
“It’s going to come down to him feeling good,” Mendoza said. “It might take a few weeks. It might take a month. Who knows?”