It’s always the timing that hurts most. Just when the Mets thought the worst of their pitching nightmare might be over, another call flipped the vibe. The sort of news that makes you pause the game, rub your temples, and wonder, how much worse can this get?
The Mets were already bleeding from every part of the rotation, and fans were banking on one to keep hope alive – Sean Manaea’s comeback. He had been the guy. The ace. The calm in the storm. So when things started to line up for his return, there was finally a sense that maybe, just maybe, they were turning a corner. But then came the twist.
“Nothing announced as to how long he’s going to continue to be shut down for,” SNY’s Andy Martino reported. “So that’s kind of where that one is.” And just like that, the uncertainty came roaring back.
In a new video posted by SNY, the troubling state of Manaea’s comeback was laid bare. While the team’s top brass, including President of Baseball Ops David Stearns, tried to downplay the setback, the words didn’t exactly ooze confidence. Analyst Dani Wexelman cleared the cloud. “Listen, I’m not a doctor, but anytime there’s an issue like this, I think there is concern. You don’t know how he’s going to respond if he hasn’t experienced this in his career. There’s nothing you can be certain about.” That’s the thing. No one can say with certainty what version of Sean Manaea the Mets will even get when he returns.
Sean Manaea says the loose body in his elbow is seven millimeters:
When asked if that’s big, Manaea said he had no clue pic.twitter.com/VnBrkcyROO
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 24, 2025
The update comes after a frustrating chain of events for the 33-year-old. Manaea had been sidelined since spring training with an oblique strain. He started throwing again in mid-March, but then suffered another setback that pushed his rehab assignment to June 6, well past the original late-May target. After a promising showing with Triple-A Syracuse, more bad luck followed. He reported elbow discomfort, and an MRI revealed a loose body in his left elbow. That led to a cortisone injection and yet another shutdown. No surgery for now, sure. But no clear timeline either.
“I hope there are no lingering issues, but I can’t sit here and tell you I’m certain Manaea will just slide right back in and assume the ace role he had,” Wexelman added. And that role wasn’t minor.
In 2024, Manaea carried a 12-6 record with a 3.47 ERA, 184 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.08. He was the guy in the rotation. Now? He hasn’t thrown a pitch in the regular season under his new three-year, $75 million contract. The Mets’ investment is starting to feel like a gamble hanging by a thread.
So what’s next? How do you hold things together when the one guy who could’ve stabilized the ship is just… in limbo? For the Mets, the frustration is real. And that emotion isn’t just limited to the front office or the fans; Manaea feels it too. “It’s not exactly how I wanted to start this contract out. It’s very frustrating,” he admitted.
At this point, the Mets don’t just need him healthy. They need him to be great. And that’s a tall ask when his comeback road is lined with setbacks, soft shutdowns, and uncertainty. While the Mets continue to look for signs of life, there’s only so much waiting a season can afford.
As this story continues to unfold, one thing’s clear. The comeback that promised hope now flashes warning signs at every turn.
Manaea and Raley inch forward, but questions remain
The bad timing of Griffin Canning’s ruptured Achilles only added urgency to Sean Manaea’s situation. The Mets were already thin on arms, but when Canning went down, the need for a lefty like Manaea to return went from pressing to borderline desperate.
But the path back isn’t smooth. An oblique strain forced Manaea out in spring training. What initially appeared manageable has now turned into a lingering saga. Just when he seemed ready, the elbow issue forced another shutdown.
According to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, there’s still no rehab assignment on the calendar. “Manaea is scheduled to throw a bullpen back in New York, and then we’ll see where we’re at after that,” he said. “Bullpen, and we’ve got to wait and see how he responds, and we’ll make that next decision.”
But there’s some light with Brooks Raley. The reliever, who’s been on the mend after Tommy John surgery, has started pitching in Double-A Binghamton. Mendoza shared, “We’ll see what’s next after that. Obviously, he’s got to go to [Triple-A] Syracuse at some point.” He also revealed a bit of the plan: “I think we’re going to see one-plus (inning) out of him, so we started that process- finishing an inning and then going back out for another one. I think that’s happening [Saturday].”
As for when fans might see Raley back in a Mets uniform, Mendoza kept it real. “I think it’s more [likely] after the [All-Star] break.”
So yeah, reinforcements are coming… but not tomorrow. And while that might give a sliver of hope, the spotlight stays fixed on Manaea. Until he’s back on the mound, healthy and dealing, the questions won’t go away. Not for the Mets, not for the fans. Not for a rotation hanging by threads and crossed fingers.
The post Mets Face Fresh Warning as Sean Manaea Comeback Hit by Uncertainty appeared first on EssentiallySports.
