The Mets were dealt one significant blow this month, as offseason pickup Frankie Montas is dealing with a lat strain that will keep him out for the start of 2025. Now, the Mets will be without Sean Manaea, thanks to an oblique issue that’ll keep him shut down temporarily.
Manaea dealing with oblique injury
Mets left-hander Sean Manaea has been diagnosed with a right oblique strain, per manager Carlos Mendoza. Thus, Manaea will likely miss Opening Day 2025. Per the team, Manaea has been dealing right side discomfort since the start of camp.
Manaea re-signed with the Mets on a three-year deal this past winter. As we noted when Manaea re-joined the Mets, the veteran lefty overhauled his delivery to become more crossfire, along with a lower arm slot. It led to great results for his four-seamer and two-seamer, as well as the Mets, as he helped lead New York (NL) to a spot in the NLCS.
It’s the second notable injury the Mets sustained before the month of February ended. Frankie Montas, a teammate of Manaea in Oakland and recent acquisition, is dealing with a lat strain and will likely miss at least the first month of 2025.
The Mets will also not have Nick Madrigal for what Mendoza stated will be a “long” period of time. Madrigal suffered a dislocated shoulder on Sunday.
Fantasy impact
The Mets are planning on shutting down Manaea for two weeks, before attempting to build him up. If it’s just a two-week layoff, Manaea shouldn’t be out for too long past Opening Day. Although, that’s assuming everything goes to plan with his rehab.
We had Manaea ranked as the 106th-best player available in fantasy drafts this spring, admittedly higher than most outlets. Yahoo!, for example, had him at #183 before the injury.
The injury should make fantasy owners pause somewhat when it comes to Manaea, simply because any setback would lead to him being on the shelf for a significant period of time. However, one reason why we had him so high was because A) his potential win output with the Mets and B) how Manaea was able to beat hitters, particularly lefties, to get more whiffs.
Slide Manaea down on draft boards. However, if Manaea is hanging around over the final few rounds, don’t stay too far away from him.
Make sure to check out more of our Spring Training coverage, including our recap of the second week.