Sean Manaea was drawn to the New York Mets’ family-like atmosphere, similar to Juan Soto.
“I thought that it was a perfect fit. I know Talat, my wife now, she loved it on the family side, as well,” Manaea said on Monday during a Zoom call about his $75 million, three-year contract with the Mets, announced on Dec. 27.
Manaea, who will turn 33 on Feb. 1, had signed two-year deals in the last two offseasons, first a $25 million contract with San Francisco and then a $28 million deal with the Mets. He opted out after one season both times to become a free agent again.
“Earlier in the offseason there were a couple of teams that reached out and we talked to them,” he said. “I don’t think it really made it too far past kind of like the talking stages.”
Manaea went 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts for the Mets last year. The left-handed pitcher lowered his arm slot midseason and was 6-2 with a 3.09 ERA in his last 12 regular-season games. He went 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA in four postseason appearances.
Staying with the Mets was his top choice.
“The communication between the wives and the organization has been incredible,” he said. “I know Talat’s said a lot of great things about them. And they just take care of everything. When I’m at the field, you need tickets or something like that, it’s super easy and they kind of accommodate for that.”
Soto mentioned the family environment set by owner Steve Cohen and his wife Alex when he decided to sign a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the Mets last month.
Manaea has been working on his changeup this offseason in Florida at Driveline Baseball and Diesel Optimization. He thanked pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and the Mets’ staff for helping him improve in the second half of the season.
“He kind of allowed me to be like myself and kind of experiment with some things, and just kind of bouncing ideas off of him. And just very easy to talk to as far as like pitching and pitch design,” Manaea said.
Manaea was pitching for San Diego in 2022 when the Padres traded for Soto from Washington.
“You could just feel his energy,” Manaea said.
Manaea will be starting his second straight season with the same team for the first time since spending his first six big league seasons with Oakland through 2021.
“It’s fun being on an adventure of seeing new cities, being in different organizations, meeting friends, stuff like that,” he said. “At a certain point it’s kind of nice just to … settle down and have some roots.”
Manaea has been training this winter with slugger Pete Alonso, a free agent who has been with the Mets throughout his career.
“I would definitely love to have him back on the Mets and be our first baseman,” Manaea said. “We pretty much work out every day. He might show up a little earlier than I do.”
