Left-hander Sean Manaea and the New York Mets have agreed to terms on a three-year, $75 million contract, sources told ESPN. This means the veteran will stay with the team he led to a surprising appearance in the National League Championship Series.

The 32-year-old Manaea emerged as a starter in the first half of the Mets’ rotation this year, going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA and striking out 184 over 181⅔ innings pitched. The deal, which has yet to be finalized, will more than double Manaea’s career earnings and continue a winter of lavish spending for the Mets.

Last winter, Manaea signed with the Mets for two years and $28 million. The contract contained an opt-out, which Manaea exercised. When he declined New York’s one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer, he went freelance and attracted interest from a variety of teams.

The starting pitching market in particular has been a boon for players: Manaea is the sixth pitcher to sign a free agent contract worth $21 million per year and the 12th to have an average annual value of over $13 million US dollars has. Manaea made such a strong impression on the Mets – both on the field, where his new arm slot led to a standout year, and in the clubhouse, where he emerged as a team leader – that adding him to the Mets’ winter offering proved too tempting to forego it.

The Mets had already handed out the largest contract in sports history, a 15-year, $765 million contract for outfielder Juan Soto. And with free agents Luis Severino and Jose Quintana, the Mets filled out their rotation with right-handers Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes, with the latter planning to move from a backup role to starter. Additionally, the Mets had signed right-handed starter Griffin Canning. Their total winter free agent spending is $916.25 million.

New York’s desire for Manaea’s return was such that he joined Blake Snell, Max Fried and Nathan Eovaldi in the starting pitchers’ club this winter, earning $25 million per year. Since going to the Kansas City Royals with the 34th pick in the 2013 draft, Manaea has been a physical gem. His 6-foot-1, 220-pound frame provided deception that helped his low-90s fastball play upfield.

With the Mets, Manaea returned to a much more sinker-heavy arsenal after two years of throwing almost exclusively four-seam fastballs. That, along with ditching his arm slot to mimic NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale, did wonders for Manaea’s production and made him look more like the 2021 version of himself.

He also excelled in the postseason, allowing two runs over five innings in a wild-card round and throwing seven innings of one-run ball in a division series win over the Philadelphia Phillies. After scoring two earned runs in an NLCS Game 2 win at the Los Angeles Dodgers, Manaea exited Game 6 in the third inning in what could have been his final start for New York.

That wasn’t the case, and he will spend his 10th season in Queens, having thrown 1,184⅓ career innings with a 4.00 ERA, 1,109 strikeouts, 335 walks and 158 home runs allowed.

The Mets, meanwhile, could go in several directions to further complement Soto’s addition to the lineup. First baseman Pete Alonso and third baseman Alex Bregman are the top remaining free agent hitters, and the Mets could re-sign Alonso or sign Bregman and move Mark Vientos from first baseman to third baseman. The Mets have also dabbled in the free agent outfield market, according to sources, and remain actively involved in trade discussions.