1 NY Mets contract it feels like Steve Cohen will have to eat before it expires

Steve Cohen has been forced to eat a lot of money in his short time as majority owner of the New York Mets. Much of it by strategic choice, starting with the Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander trades, there’s another contract looking like a delectable dish that’ll end up served to the Mets owner before it’s all over with.

Shaped more like a bagel than a baguette because of its AAV and not length, the deal the Mets struck with Sean Manaea last offseason is off to a bumpy start. Manaea missed half of the 2025 season and when he did return wasn’t the same version he was in 2024. The $25 million owed to him in 2026 includes $7.5 million deferred with the same situation coming up in 2027.

The Mets have places to stash Manaea, notably in the bullpen. But if he’s anything like he was last year and performing much like he did prior to joining the Mets, it feels like there could come a point in mid-2027 when the Mets eat the money.

If Sean Manaea can’t get it together in 2026, the Mets need to think about dumping him

Manaea gets a slight pass for his 2025 struggles because of how good he was the year before and the injury which cost him all but one appearance in the first half. He made 12 starts and another 3 relief appearances for the Mets. He was hooked early in game 162 when after 1.2 innings, Carlos Mendoza decided he had seen enough despite no runs on the board.

The Mets lost a lot of faith in Manaea hence the two trips to the bullpen in September. His first (second overall for the year) included 5 impressive innings in a win he’d earn versus the San Diego Padres. The second was far worse in a 10-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. A single, stolen base, and home run put an already out-of-reach game for the Mets into comical territory.

Manaea doesn’t come across as the kind of player whose track record is relevant to the present. The high of 2024 came from out of nowhere just as the lows in the years prior disappointed fans in San Francisco and San Diego. For whatever it’s worth, Manaea does have a slightly better ERA at 3.99 in relief versus the 4.09 as a starter. Other numbers favor the role for him more, too. It’s no surprise. The issue for him in 2025 was often running out of steam. You don’t get that opportunity in shorter relief appearances.

Another $50 million guaranteed will have Manaea starting for the Mets next year barring a trade which just doesn’t seem likely. The money has already been accounted for in Cohen’s mind. With $17 million already wasted on Frankie Montas who won’t throw a pitch for the Mets in 2026 (or ever again in all likelihood), the coming season won’t have Manaea’s contract getting eaten just yet by the Mets. The same can’t be said about 2027, especially pending the results of the next CBA.