Sean Manaea Trying to Return to Previous Arm Slot
New York Mets left-hander Sean Manaea performed like an ace in the second half of 2024 after lowering his arm slot to emulate Chris Sale. In 2025, Manaea went even lower with his arm slot, but it didn't work, and he also dealt with elbow and oblique injuries before finishing with a 5.64 ERA in just 60 2/3 innings. The Athletic's Will Sammon writes that Manaea is "one of the Mets' biggest X-factors" in 2026, and while working with Tread Athletics over the offseason, he is "closer to where he was at his best in 2024" in terms of his revised arm slot. The 34-year-old veteran southpaw is also feeling totally healthy this spring. Pitching coach Justin Willard describes Manaea's fastball as "elite" because it's "a different pitch than hitters are used to seeing." Manaea has relied mostly on his fastball and sweeper in recent seasons, but he's working more on his changeup to potentially bring it back. Manaea isn't a bad late-round flier in fantasy drafts to mitigate the risk of an aging pitcher with two above-average seasons since 2020.
Source: The Athletic - Will Sammon
Source: The Athletic - Will Sammon
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