It was a great sight to see. Sean Manaea was making his Citi Field debut on Friday night and it was a great start for the Mets' southpaw. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
Manaea threw just 69 pitches (42 strikes) across four innings in the Mets' 8-4 loss to the Reds. It didn't look as if Manaea, who has missed most of the season due to oblique and elbow issues, was laboring and he had allowed just one run on one hit and two walks while striking out six batters in his first start since last October.
So, what was the deal?
Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza explained that he simply didn't want to push Manaea, making only his second appearance of the season.
"It’s like pitchers coming out of spring training. It’s that buildup, you’re not going from 60 to 85 (pitches) right away," Mendoza said after the game. "Especially for a guy that’s been through a lot, not only with the oblique, with the elbow issues and his setback. That’s where we’re at right now. Hopefully next time out, we can increase his pitch count a little bit more, but that was the plan today."
Manaea made his season debut on July 13 against the Royals. In that relief appearance, he threw 65 pitches (44 strikes) across 3.1 innings. In his final rehab start, Manaea tossed 73 pitches in 3.2 innings with Triple-A Syracuse back on July 8.
Clearly, the Mets are taking it easy with Manaea as he works his way back to a bigger pitch count. But the lack of length hurt the Mets on Friday as the bullpen could not hold the lead, a trend that has become a near-season-long one.
"I want to be out there as long as possible, but I understand the situation we’re in," Manaea said after the game. "It’s just not taking it too crazy, but just giving what I can with the pitches allotted."
Manaea admitted that he felt like he could throw more pitches but is not surprised by the pitch count. He said that while he knew the plan going into his start, there hadn't been an in-depth conversation on the team's progression for him. He goes out there and pitches as long as he can or is allowed. One way to combat that is being more pitch-efficient, which he wishes he was, so he could go at least five innings on Friday.
"That’s the most frustrating about today," Manaea said of his inefficiency. "Threw some good sliders but not some real competitive ones at all. Combination of that and the fastball location was kinda iffy. Those two pitches I definitely need."
Despite the outcome of Friday's game, Mendoza remains confident that Manaea can be stretched out for the rest of the season, it just may take some time.
"It’s outing by outing how he responds," he said. "I’m pretty comfortable and confident that if everything continues to progress and the way he continues to bounce back, we’ll get to a point where he’s 85-90 pitches. As of right now, that’s where we’re at with him."
Manaea's health will likely be a concern the rest of the year after a loose body was found in Manaea's elbow when he was rehabbing his oblique. That set him back weeks but the issue doesn't require immediate surgery. It'll be something to monitor, as Mendoza put it, outing to outing with the southpaw but Mets fans should feel encouraged that so far, Manaea is feeling good, even if Friday's loss stings.
"[I feel] great," Manaea said. "Arm feels good. Body feels good. At the end of the day, that’s all I can ask for."
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