5 upcoming Mets free agents helping their offseason stock with a strong September

Finishing strong became a must for the New York Mets if they wanted to make up for lost time. Go figure. They’ve been one of the hottest teams all month.

Despite the absence of Francisco Lindor from the lineup and some epic ongoing slumps for some of their players, this team has gotten some major contributions from several upcoming free agents.

1) Sean Manaea

Everyone involved with reaching between Sean Manaea’s ears and turning him into what he has been this year for the Mets deserves a lot of credit. Most of the applause, however, should go directly aimed at him. He’s the one putting in the work and getting the results.

After another marvelous outing on Saturday, Manaea is 12-5 on the year with a 3.29 ERA. The strong September has only furthered the case to bring him back next year. His free agent stock is skyrocketing.

Through 5 starts, Manaea is 2-0 with a 2.36 ERA. He has fanned 34 hitters in 34.1 innings of work. His 0.70 WHIP is outstanding as is the .133 batting average against him this month.

Manaea didn’t go into this year as an expected top free agent candidate for the 2024-2025 offseason. Well, look at him now. He won’t be in the same top tier as Corbin Burnes and Max Fried who have better resumes and age more on their side. At 32, Manaea has already secured himself more than a one-year deal with a player option for the second—what the Mets gave him last offseason. Lucky for us, the qualifying offer the Mets will inevitably give him after he opts out should help give them a minor advantage in keeping him around.

Although not technically a free agent yet, he’d be foolish to opt into his contract next year. It doesn’t matter how much fun he’s having. Manaea is going to capitalize on this season’s performance.