Sean Manaea’s Nebulous Role is Hurting The Mets’ Bullpen

The New York Mets have played a lot of baseball already with three extra inning games in the past five days. The Mets have gotten good performances from their starting rotation, but their bullpen has been taxed.

"I consider myself a starter. To not be that is frustrating. But at the end of the day, I'm going to let my pitching do the work in whatever capacity that is and go from there."

- Sean Manaea pic.twitter.com/kZ6OwlK1HJ
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 21, 2026

Part of the issue has been the Mets' nebulous usage of Sean Manaea, who was assigned to the bullpen at the start of the season. Manager Carlos Mendoza hinted that Manaea would be used as a piggyback option to stay stretched out as a starter, but that has not happened through the club's first six games.

The Mets plan to use Sean Manaea in a piggyback role to begin the season

Carlos Mendoza explains the decision: pic.twitter.com/xvzevk06Q2
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 21, 2026

The Mets have used Manaea just once so far, when he threw 29 pitches in 1.1 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Manaea's velocity also remained low, failing to top 90 miles per hour despite his claims the adrenaline of regular season games would lead to an uptick in that department.

The adrenaline of the regular season has not resulted in increased velocity for Sean Manaea, who entered in relief and is throwing his fastball in the high 80s, topping out at 89.8 during the seventh inning today. pic.twitter.com/Fl7DJMs162
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 29, 2026

It remains unclear exactly what the Mets' plan for Manaea is. The veteran told Mike Puma of the New York Post on Monday that he didn't know how the team was going to keep him stretched out. A piggy back role would allow Manaea to work 3-4 innings at once, building up his pitch count as Puma suggests he may make a start on the Mets' next home stand.

How Manaea's Lack of Usage is Hurting The Mets' Bullpen

The aforementioned piggy back role, which Manaea played back in September, hasn't materialized yet. Game flow may be leading Mendoza to prioritize his normal relievers to keep things close, especially with the Mets' lineup not hitting. However, it is taxing the rest of the unit.

The most pitchers a team can carry is 13 and the Mets group essentially has five starters and two long men in Manaea and Tobias Myers. The Mets have used Myers for multi-inning stints twice and had him start the 10th inning of Wednesday's loss against the Cardinals, but those outings require more rest between appearances.

Mendoza has also been reluctant to use Brooks Raley or Devin Williams in consecutive games this early. With Luis Garcia struggling in his first two appearances, the Mets have few options to cover multiple innings in the event of a short start or extra inning games.

Using Manaea just once in seven days is having a ripple effect on the rest of the unit, which has seen Richard Lovelady be asked to pitch three times in four days to cover innings. Lovelady is doing his job so the Mets can avoid burning out their top relievers in the first week of April, but it is hard to navigate a season with one pitcher essentially not working in an eight man bullpen.

The Mets are in the middle of a stretch of nine games in a row without an off day, making the call not to use Manaea as a starter in this stretch a curious one. Manaea may get a call as a long reliever over the next few days if one of the currently scheduled starters has a tough go of it, but the Mets really should be trying to use him in a piggy back role to give their main relievers a break.

The ideal scenario may be to have Manaea come in after Nolan McLean on Friday, offering a contrast between his softer stuff and McLean's vast array of pitches. Giving Manaea four innings there would also allow the Mets to be careful with McLean's innings as he navigates his first full season as a big league starter.

The one thing that is clear, however, is that their current plan for Manaea doesn't appear to be working. Manaea either needs to get into multi-inning stints or be shortened to work as a regular reliever. Otherwise the team's current relief pitching arrangement will cost Mendoza games.

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