Inside The Mets

Mets' Free Agent Hurler Could Reunite With AL Team in 'Perfect Transaction'

An MLB insider conveyed why one of the New York Mets' best pitchers last season would be the "perfect transaction" for an AL team.

Grant Young

Feb 22, 2021; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; The hat and glove of New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) sits on the outfield grass during the first day of full-squad spring training workouts at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-Imagn Images
Feb 22, 2021; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; The hat and glove of New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) sits on the outfield grass during the first day of full-squad spring training workouts at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-Imagn Images / Mary Holt-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets will have a lot of options available to them when reloading their starting rotation this offseason.

There's no question that the Mets will be active on the free agency market, given they lost their three best starters (Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana) in 2024. And there's a solid chance that New York could try to re-sign and reunite with any of these three players, who are all now unrestricted free agents.

However, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan explained why it might make more sense for Manaea to reunite with another one of his former teams in a November 22 article.

"The perfect transaction: Sign free agent left-hander Sean Manaea," Passan wrote for the (formerly) Oakland A's.

He also added, "While they've got the makings of a decent lineup -- with Rooker, Bleday and breakout rookie Lawrence Butler at the heart of it -- their pitching staff is a mess. The A's need at least two starting pitchers and likely more.

"For free agents open to taking a gap year from the postseason, Sutter Health Park (the team's temporary home) is expected to play very friendly for pitchers. And for anyone willing to take a leap of faith, the A's have the room to lock players up to long-term deals that would coincide with their planned 2028 move to Las Vegas," he continued.

Manaea began his MLB career with Oakland and pitched there from 2016 to 2021. He produced a 50-41 record with a 3.86 ERA and 641 strikeouts in 129 appearances for them, including a no-hitter he threw in 2018.

It will be interesting to see whether Manea would be open to re-signing with the A's, especially since they're playing in a minor league stadium next season.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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