Sean Manaea can thank Nathan Eovaldi for his next payday.

The MLB Hot Stove is heating up and pitchers are a hot commodity. Sean Manaea had a great season with the New York Mets and hits free agency with a solid market. Another veteran coming off a solid season, Nathan Eovaldi, ended his free agency with a three-year, $75 million deal with the Texas Rangers. Jon Morosi of MLB Network expects Manaea to sign a bigger free agency deal than Eovaldi.

“LHP Sean Manaea is viewed within the industry as likely to surpass Nathan Eovaldi’s 3-year, $75 million contract,” Morosi reported. “Manaea is entering his age-33 season. Eovaldi turns 35 in February.”

It is not just the age that is attracting teams to Manaea either, as Morosi said. “Manaea threw more innings than Eovaldi in 2024, with a better adjusted ERA.”

Manaea landed on Cy Young ballots for the first time in his career in his one season with the Mets. He threw a career-high 181.2 innings with a 114 ERA+ and a 12-6 record. If he leaves the Mets, it will be his fourth team in four years but Morosi indicates that is a trend that will end.

Eovaldi is not the only pitcher to get a massive payday. Max Fried signed the largest contract by a left-handed pitcher ever, landing with the New York Yankees. How will these deals impact Sean Manaea?

Potential landing spots for Sean Manaea

While the Mets did land the biggest fish of the offseason in Juan Soto, they still need to improve their starting rotation. They lost Luis Severino to the Athletics and Jose Quintana is also a free agent. Right now, their rotation is David Peterson, Frankie Montas, Kodai Senga, Paul Blackburn, and Clay Holmes. Manaea could come in and be the ace of that staff.

There will be no hesitation from Mets owner Steve Cohen to give Manaea this type of money. He just doled out the biggest contract in sports history and knows he needs a pitcher. But this report does rule out teams that need pitching, like the Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers.

In the Mets’ division, the Braves just lost Fried to the Yankees. They could replace the lefty with the cheaper option in Manaea while trusting Chris Sale and Spencer Strider to top their rotation. The Phillies should also look at Manaea after a tough season from fellow former Met Taijuan Walker.

The Cubs are another team looking for starting pitching that will likely not spend for Corbin Burnes. Adding Manaea creates a solid one-two punch with Shota Imanaga.