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Sean Manaea 2025 Fantasy Baseball Outlook: Will Start Season On IL With Oblique Injury
New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea (oblique) had one of his best seasons as a 31-year-old Met, going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA over 181⅔ IP. His ERA estimators weren't quite as strong (4.04 xFIP, 3.75 xERA), and his 24.9% K% and 8.5% BB% were fine but slight regressions from 2023's 25.7% K% and 8.4% BB%. Manaea completely reinvented his pitch mix, throwing a new cutter 7.1% of the time and sinker 44.7% of the time instead of fastballs (56.2% in 2023, 11.3% last year) and changeups (17% to 11.8%). The resulting five-pitch mix lacks strikeout upside, especially since Manaea deemphasized his fastball's repertoire-leading 15.6% SwStr%. He'll also need his defense to keep his BABIP down (.245 last year, .284 career). The Mets overpaid to bring him back into the fold with a three-year, $75 million contract, but fantasy managers don't need to at an ADP of 184.95. Manaea is a safe choice for innings but a poor pick for upside, so your roster construction determines whether you should select him. UPDATE 2/25/25: Manaea was diagnosed with a right oblique strain and is expected to start the season on the 15-day injured list. Expect his ADP to drop significantly in March due to the oblique injury.
