The Mets’ six-man rotation will be a five-plus to begin the season.
Sean Manaea has been squeezed to the bullpen for the first two times through the rotation, manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday, leaving the veteran lefty in a piggyback role.
Freddy Peralta, David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga are aligned to pitch the first time through the rotation.
Peralta is slated to return for Game 6, in St. Louis.
“Six guys throwing the ball really well and we were pretty honest with all of them at the beginning of camp that if everyone was healthy, we were going to have to make some tough decisions,” Mendoza said.
Off days early in the schedule preclude the Mets from needing a sixth starter immediately.
Manaea, whose velocity has dipped in spring training, was “not happy” with the decision, according to Mendoza.
“But he was very respectful and he understood,” Mendoza said.
“Right now, it’s Sean doing it, but it could easily be somebody else, and they are well aware of that.”
Manaea was a weak link in the rotation last season, pitching to a 5.64 ERA in 15 appearances.
He missed half of the season rehabbing from a strained oblique and elbow discomfort caused by a loose body.
Manea’s schedule to pitch will remain fluid, according to Mendoza, with no set spot in which he will piggyback a starter.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
