After the New York Mets signed Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract earlier this offseason, all attention turned to the starting pitching rotation in Queens.

New York had done a good job of turning rejected starters into elite players again, but could the same magic be achieved there in 2025?

Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report recently predicted that the Mets would re-sign starter Sean Manaea to a $75 million deal. Manaea was one of the breakout stars mentioned above.

“Manaea went from a good season to a great one, ultimately posting a 3.09 ERA with a 4.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last 12 starts,” Rymer wrote. “Since he was only in the 54th percentile in strike percentage, Manaea isn’t at Sale’s level when it comes to being overpowering. Nonetheless, he represents a good chance to age well as he can beat batsmen through sheer variation.”

“He has six throws and his new power makes it much harder for batsmen to track the ball. If Yusei Kikuchi can get $63 million in this market for three years, Manaea should have at least that much to offer.”

Seeing you again here makes a lot of sense. The Mets and Manaea had a lot of success together last season and New York has the money to bring him back. If he wants to win and get paid, Queens is the place.

The only way this can be prevented is if there is a smaller market team like the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Guardians or Los Angeles Angels willing to pay well above market value for Manaea. If not, he remains a mead.

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