The Los Angeles Dodgers made the first big signing of the offseason by inking two time Cy Young winner Blake Snell to a five year deal. The deal was worth $182 million comprised of a $52 million signing bonus and deferred money.
With Snell, the perfect conditions were in place for things to get done this quickly:
- The Dodgers targeted Snell;
- The Dodgers will World Series contenders in 2025;
- The Dodgers have very deep pockets; and
- Snell lingered on the free agent market last offseason leading him to want to strike a quick deal this offseason.
For the Mets, Manae has vocalized his wanting to return to the Mets. The team and organization love him with teammates attending his wedding.
Manae finally seemed to hit that ceiling people thought he was capable of reaching. Part of that was changing his delivery to emulate Chris Sale. Another important factor was the analytics department coupled with Manae’s work with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.
While not as long as Snell, Manae did have to wait until January to sign. He got a similar deal to Snell in both received a one year deal with a player option (both obviously declined their options).
Manea is a year older than Snell without the same historic success. Snell was the better of the two, but Manae was one of the better starters in the second half of the season.
Manae is not going to get a similar contract. That said, there should be an avenue for the Mets to strike early.
We know the team needs at least two starters. We don’t know where Corbin Burnes market will go. There are prevalent rumors Roki Sasaki going to the Dodgers is a fait accompli. There are other options with equal issues.
With Manae, you know there’s a pitcher who wants to be there. You know this is a pitcher who thrived in New York. He’s a pitcher who is everything the Mets could need or want.
The Mets need to move quickly to lock in Manae like the Dodgers did with Snell. They need to remove some uncertainty with their rotation. They need to move quick to sign Manae before someone else does.
