Yankees Could Pursue Mets’ Projected $86 Million Breakout Star

Getty Yankees potential target Sean Manaea

After winning the American League and earning a spot in the 2024 World Series, the Yankees are in an enviable position coming into the MLB offseason. And yet, it sure feels like there is a lot of work to be done.

While keeping star outfielder Juan Soto is the priority, the team needs to rebuild its bullpen and, despite having impressive depth among the starters, it feels like an upgrade there could be in order. The Yankees kept Gerrit Cole on board by blocking his opt-out, adding another year to his contract in the process, but considering Cole’s arm injury last year, and the fact that he is 34 years old, it makes sense to add another top-of-the-rotation guy.

That could mean Blake Snell. That could mean Corbin Burnes. Or it could mean Max Fried. That trio heads up the list of free-agent pitchers this winter.

But New York Post insider Jon Heyman floated an interesting possibility this week, a bit closer to home: Sean Manaea, who has been with four teams in the past four years but had the best season of his nine-year MLB career with the Mets. Manaea went 12-6 with an ERA of 3.47 and a WHIP of 1.084.

Yankees Looking for Top-End Pitching Talent

Writing this week in the Post, Heyman noted that the Yankees have “checked in” on Snell, Burnes and Fried. That was not much of a surprise. But he also wrote, “The Yankees also are interested in Sean Manaea, who will turn down the $21.05M qualifying offer from the Mets.”

Manaea won’t be cheap. He will turn down the qualifying offer but is expected to get a deal worth around  the same amount, over multiple years.

At ESPN, analyst Kiley McDaniel projects Manaea getting an $86 million deal over four years. While there is, naturally, concern that Manaea’s 2024 showing was a fluke, McDaniel pointed out that he has made changes to his delivery that should make his improvement sustainable.

“Manaea is older than the starting pitchers ahead of him, but something happened in 2024 to help him finally break through to what was expected of him when he went in the first round in 2013. His success this season was fueled by lowering his arm slot and moving to the extreme first-base side of the rubber to make his sinker play better while enhancing the crossfire elements of his delivery against left-handed hitters.

“Manaea will turn 33 in February, and that likely caps the ceiling of his contract, but he looked like a No. 2 starter after his adjustments, so I think he will get four or five years at a roughly $20 million per year rate.”