The New York Mets failed to make the 2025 Postseason just one year removed from an improbable run to the NLCS. While many factors contributed to the team’s demise, a lack of top-notch starting pitching became an issue down the stretch.
According to Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic, some in the organization felt that the club mishandled starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga’s returns.
“But multiple people within the Mets feel they failed Manaea and Senga. The regret that stands out for July isn’t so much what the Mets did and didn’t acquire at the trade deadline. It’s the decision three weeks earlier to bring both Manaea and Senga back before the All-Star break,” Britton and Sammon wrote.
“The Mets made that unorthodox decision, preferring not to wait the extra week like most teams do around the break, because of the precarious state of their rotation at the time. They had just survived a turn with both Justin Hagenman and Brandon Waddell in the mix. And they wanted the best read possible on Senga and Manaea ahead of the trade deadline.”
Manaea ended his season with a 2-4 record and a 5.64 ERA across 60.2 innings. He did not resemble the pitcher who helped New York make a deep October run in 2024 and was limited during the final few weeks of the campaign.
“It’s a complete failure,” Manaea said of his season after Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the Miami Marlins.
Senga posted a 7-6 record and a 3.02 ERA over 113.1 innings, but earned a 6.06 ERA through his final seven starts. He was demoted to the minor leagues earlier this month, and might not have cracked the Wild Card roster even if New York had reached the playoffs.
It remains to be seen how owner Steve Cohen and general manager David Stearns will proceed this offseason, but it may be safe to assume that they will be partially focused on how to improve the Mets’ rotation.
