Sean Manaea Slated for Bullpen Role to Start 2026 Season

The New York Mets have finalized their starting rotation, with Sean Manaea set to begin the season working out of the bullpen. Manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed that Manaea will serve in a piggyback role as the team moves forward with a five-man rotation. While Manaea has shown lower velocity throughout the spring, Mendoza stated that this performance metric did not influence the decision to shift his usage for the early portion of the 2026 campaign.