Mets $13 Million Ace Who 'Won't Be Back' Should Be Royals' Top Free-Agent Priority
The Kansas City Royals' starting pitching is already a strength. Could they turn it into a lethal weapon in 2025?
With Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans at the top of the rotation, the Royals ranked in the top five of most major starting pitching categories in 2025. It not only masked a mediocre all-around offense, but it made the Royals a threat to make a deep run in the American League playoffs, though they ultimately sputtered in the Division Series.
Adding offense might be the more pressing need for the Royals, but the team is also on course to lose productive starter Michael Wacha to an opt-out this winter. Perhaps the best way to become a World Series contender is to replace Wacha with another veteran who had a breakout season in the National League.
New York Mets star Sean Manaea is set to hit free agency after opting out of the second year of his most recent contract. After helping the Mets to a deeper playoff run than anyone anticipated, FanSided's Zach Pressnell predicted that Manaea "won't be back" in New York in 2025.
"With such a successful season, Manaea has likely played himself right out of the Big Apple," Pressnell said. "(Agent Scott) Boras won't be interested in giving out any discounts to stay with the Mets, so with New York pursuing Alonso and Soto among others, I would imagine Manaea will be in a new uniform in 2025."
Manaea, 32, went 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in the regular season, and stepped up huge for the Mets in the playoffs. Allowing five earned runs in two innings Sunday tanked his playoff ERA, but he picked up two enormous wins for the Mets in the NLDS and NLCS, including pitching into the eighth inning of his start against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Midway through the season, Manaea changed his delivery to mimic prohibitive NL Cy Young favorite Chris Sale's sidewinding motion. The change worked wonders, as Manaea's stats got significantly better as the season wore on, and that will likely earn him an even bigger contract based on his newfound potential.
Perhaps it won't be cheap for the Royals to add Manaea, but Kansas City learned last winter that investing in starting pitching is the quickest way to paydirt. If Manaea becomes the third ace in the Royals rotation, Kansas City could be an early favorite to take home the AL pennant in 2025.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org