Three of their top starters are set to enter free agency this winter. New York Mets They may look elsewhere to fill their rotations in 2025 and beyond. However, this should not prevent them from looking within themselves first.

Names like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell and 22-year-old Japanese phenom Rōki Sasaki could emerge, prompting Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns to go star hunting. But this marks a departure from his typical strategy.

Stearns has historically preferred to acquire starters via trade, draft or short-term contracts, and never committed more than two years to a free agent pitcher during his tenure as a decision-maker with the Brewers and Mets.

It’s worth noting that Milwaukee is operating on a much smaller budget than owner Steve Cohen maintains in New York. When Stearns joined the Mets last October, the team was transitioning from a 75-87 season that saw two huge contracts handed over (Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer). The Mets committed to making low-risk moves and avoided expensive free agents, but these cost-effective signings were crucial to their turnaround and taking them to the NLCS.

Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and José Quintana — all added on short-term deals the past two seasons (Manaea and Severino from Stearns, Quintana from former GM Billy Eppler) — accounted for 37% of the club’s at-bats in 2024. The veteran trio collectively made 94 starts with a 3.71 ERA in the regular season and started at least three games each in the postseason.

So which starters should they keep? Let’s take a closer look at all three.

Sean Manaea
The 32-year-old left-hander is expected to decline his $13.5 million player option in hopes of securing a long-term deal after signing two consecutive “proven” contracts.

After flashing high-level starting potential in the Athletics, Manaea struggled with the Padres and Giants, even moving to the bullpen at one point in 2023, but finished strong with a 2.25 ERA in four September starts.

In New York, he pitched a career-high 181.2 innings and 19 in the postseason, posting a 12-6 regular season record, 3.47 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. did. Although he ran out of gas in the Mets’ NLCS Game 6 loss, he allowed just five runs in 17 innings in his first three postseason starts (2.65 ERA).

Manaea “I loved my time here” in question After the Mets were eliminated in Game 6 of the NLCS. “I love New York. I love organization. I love all the people here. “I would definitely love to go back.”

Decision: Re-sign three-year contract with Manaea. He reinvented himself in New York by increasing his sinker/sweeper usage and revamping his arm angle; This will ensure continued success.

Luis Severino
Severino also reinvented himself as the Met. When he signed a one-year, $13 million deal last season, the two-time All-Star and former Yankees‘ Ace appeared to be on a downward trend, surpassing 100 innings pitched only once in the last five seasons due to injuries. He posted a 6.65 ERA in 18 starts in 2023.

The Mets’ training staff helped keep him on the field, and he went 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 182 innings in 31 starts. He made three starts in October, going 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA and striking out 13 batters in 16.2 innings.

Severino adopted his sinker with the Mets and introduced a sweeper as a backup pitch. Opponents are batting just .139 against his sweeper with a 38.6% whiff rate in 2024. Statistics.

Decision: Bring back Severino on a two-year deal, but only if they can’t land a high-priced starter like Burnes or Fried to pair with Manaea.

José Quintana
Quintana, who turns 36 in January, pitched 170.1 innings with a 3.75 ERA for the Mets in 2024 in the final year of a $26 million, two-year deal.

He led the majors with a 0.74 ERA in six starts over the final five weeks of the season and finished the season with an 18.8% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. He went 0-1 with a 3.14 ERA in three postseason starts.

While the left-hander has proven to be a reliable pitch-eater, his back-four player ranks in the ninth percentile and out of 157 pitchers who made at least 180 pitches. In 2024, no one had a lower percentage of shots ending inside the strike zone (33.7). This suggests the Mets could find a younger, cheaper alternative.

Decision: Let him walk.