Sean Manaea and the New York Mets have agreed to a two-year, $28 million deal, adding another move to their busy offseason.

What will the 2024 season hold for the New York Mets. After a disastrous 2023 season, the team has wasted no time reloading to remain competitive next year. Statements from ex-New York players traded last season, though, seem to contradict this. That’s not stopping the Mets from acquiring talent this offseason, though.

The Mets already made some major moves by signing former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader. Now, Steve Cohen shifts his focus to the starting rotation. They signed former Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants starter Sean Manaea to a two-year, $28 million contract. The news was reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

“The Mets agreed to a $28 million, two-year deal with free agent left-hander Sean Manaea early Sunday morning, The Post has learned. The deal includes a player opt-out after the 2024 season.”

There were a lot of expectations for the Mets last season. After acquiring Justin Verlander, the hope was that the team could finally get over the proverbial playoff hump. However, their season quickly went sideways, as they were unable to find any consistency. Eventually, the team held a fire sale of sorts, trading away Verlander and Max Scherzer to the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, respectively.

These trades severely thinned out the Mets’ starting rotation. Regardless of how competitive they want to be, adding a lefty in Manaea is badly needed. Their ace, Japanese sensation Kodai Senga, throws right, as well as their new acquisitions in Luis Severino and Adrian Houser.

Manaea had a rough start to his 2023 season, but he eventually found his footing in San Francisco last season. He finished the season with a 4.44 ERA, a considerable improvement to his awful 7+ ERA in April. In the final month of the season, Manaea had a 2.67 ERA in four starts and one outing from the bullpen. The Mets are hoping they’ll get that version of the lefty in 2024.

Sean Manaea became the latest pitcher to join the revamped rotation of the New York Mets, agreeing to a $28 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.

A 31-year-old left-hander, Manaea gets $14.5 million this year and $13.5 million in 2025. He has the right to opt out of the deal after the 2025 season.

Manaea became a free agent when he opted out of the final season of a $25 million, two-year contract with San Francisco, giving up a $12.5 million salary for 2024.

A veteran of eight major league seasons, Manaea was 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA in his only season with the Giants, making 10 starts and 27 relief appearances. He was dropped from the rotation in mid-May after opening the season 1-2 with a 7.96 ERA in his first six starts combined with two relief outings, made 25 appearances out of the bullpen, then returned to the rotation in mid-September and made four starts.

He relied more heavily on his fastball last season, throwing it on 57% of his pitches, his most since his rookie season. He threw 17% changeups, 15% sliders and 10% sweepers.

Manaea is 65-56 with a 4.10 ERA with Oakland (2016-21), San Diego (2022) and San Francisco.

New York announced a $14 million, one-year contract with right-hander Luis Severino on Dec. 1 and he joined a projected rotation with holdovers Kodai Senga, who finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and José Quintana. Adrian Houser, obtained in a trade from Milwaukee on Dec. 20, is another starting candidate along with holdover Tylor Megill.

Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were dealt ahead of last summer’s trade deadline, Carlos Carrasco became a free agent after the season and David Peterson is expected to be sidelined until May or June following surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip.

Manaea pitched his first six major league seasons with Oakland, then went 8-9 with a 4.96 ERA over 30 appearances with 28 starts and 158 innings in his lone season with San Diego. He was outspoken about his mental health struggles with the Padres during which he dealt with self-doubt and a lack of confidence.

He threw a no-hitter against the Red Sox on April 21, 2018, in Oakland.

In a busy offseason, New York also agreed to a $10.5 million, one-year contract with center fielder Harrison Bader and a $2 million, one-year deal with infielder Joey Wendle. They also acquired outfielder Tyrone Taylor in the trade with Milwaukee, the former team of new Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.