Sean Manaea is anticipating a respectable payday in free agency, and the veteran left-hander’s value to the wide range of suitors might have just increased.

The recent Mets starter surprisingly appeared on the NL Cy Young Award ballot on Wednesday, receiving a lone fifth-place vote from Nobuhiro Saito, who covers the Los Angeles Dodgers for Nikkan Sports News. The singular vote tied the 32-year-old southpaw with NL East starters Aaron Nola and Reynaldo Lopez as the last three players on the ballot.

Manaea, who rejected the Mets’ one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, produced arguably his best big league season. While tying a career-high in starts (32), he finished 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA and 1.084 WHIP across 181.2 innings. Manaea also delivered clutch postseason outings, positing a 2.65 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 17.0 innings.

The 2024 NL and AL Cy Young awards were presented to a pair of lefties, as Atlanta Braves veteran Chris Sale and Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal became first-time recipients. Sale received 26 of 30 possible first-place votes, while Skubal’s nomination was unanimous.

Seeking a new multi-year contract, Spotrac currently lists Manaea’s market value at $64.5 million across four years, with an average annual value of $16.1 million.