The Mets reintroduced the popular left-hander Monday afternoon in a Zoom conference, officially announcing his three-year, $75 million contract. Though he had other teams that reached out to him, since the last day of the season when he fought back tears in the Dodger Stadium visitor’s clubhouse, the reunion with the Mets felt destined.

“Based off last year with the coaching staff and everything, I thought it was a perfect fit,” Manea said. “My wife, she loved it on the family side as well. Just organizationally, I thought they did a lot of great things and I learned a lot from [pitching coach Jeremy Hefner] and the rest of the staff. Just overall, I was very, very happy with my time there, and when [the Mets] reached out and said that they wanted to reunite, I knew that was kind of a top priority.”

Manaea, who will be 33 on Feb. 1, went 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA and a 3.83 FIP over 32 starts with the Mets last season. The lefty received Cy Young Award votes for his efforts, finishing 11th in the NL race, finding success with a refined sweeper and a fastball thrown from a lower arm slot. The sweeper was his own addition, something he taught himself after looking at grips on YouTube one night during his time with the San Francisco Giants.

Lowering the release point of his fastball was something he worked on with Hefner. Manaea loves nothing more than experimenting with various pitches and grips in the bullpen and in Hefner, he found a coach that supported the experimentation and helped turn some of the tinkering into viable pitches.

“He kind of allowed me to be like myself and kind of experiment with some things,” Manaea said. “Just kind of bouncing ideas off of him, and he’s very easy to talk to as far as pitching and pitch design. All these different things that, you know, have to do with pitching, he just made everything feel super easy.”

Manaea also felt at ease immediately in a new market. The Indiana native had spent his entire career in California until last season and his laid-back, yet curious demeanor seemed to be a perfect fit for the West Coast. But in New York, Manaea and his wife enjoyed the vibrant culture in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. He found enjoyment in his daily subway commute, listening to music on the 7 train to get geared up for games. Though he has yet to find one of the infamous subway platform chess games, he’s still hoping to join one someday.

In the clubhouse, his veteran voice was respected. The Mets excelled last season in part because of a clubhouse culture that not only allows players to show their personalities but encourages them to as well. Manaea doesn’t like to take credit as a leader, respecting Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo as unofficial captains, but he encouraged the starting pitching group to support one another late in the season and during the postseason. He started wearing the number of the game’s starter in eye black and dancing with the pitchers in the dugout after they came out of games.

The culture was one that allowed him to thrive, factoring heavily into his decision to return to the Mets.

“I’m not going to say I’m like the leader or anything like that, I think it’s kind of like a collective,” Manaea said “That’s kind of like the strength that we had going on. It wasn’t like one singular guy was the leader of the group. I feel like, when it was our start date, that was the day, and you know, just passed the torch onto the next guy. And last year, that’s what happened.”

Coming back to the Mets also reunites Manaea with right-hander Frankie Montas, his close friend and former teammate in Oakland.

Manaea sees someone who can add to that clubhouse culture.

“He is a funny guy and he’s definitely very passionate about pitching and competitiveness,” Manaea said. “He just goes out there and is a dog, so I’m looking forward to that. And, I mean, his stuff is incredible too, so he brings all that stuff to the table, and he’s just a great human being and a great friend, so you’ve got that going as well.

“I’m just very happy that he’s on our team now.”

More than anything Manaea seems to be happy that he can put down roots with his new wife in a place they enjoy with a three-year contract. He’s continuing to work with Driveline at their Florida location and rejoins a group headlined by Kodai Senga and left-hander David Peterson. He’s also worked out with free agent first baseman Pete Alonso and would like to see the Polar Bear return to Queens as well.

The starting rotation is set, and with Manaea, the culture is too.

Peterson is expected to play a big role in the rotation, and Blackburn and Megill could as well. The left-hander is coming off a breakout season in 2024. After struggling to stick in the rotation and in the big leagues in 2023, Peterson underwent hip labrum surgery last fall and came back better than ever. In his age-28 season, the University of Oregon product went 10-3 with a 2.90 ERA, the lowest among all Mets starters. He became indispensable in the playoffs, working as a long reliever in various situations, and recording the save in the Mets’ Game 3 Wild Card win in Milwaukee and the win in Game 4 of the NLDS.

Peterson is under team control for two more seasons. Should he turn in another stellar season, the Mets could look to extend him before letting him go in free agency.

Blackburn is likely to start in the rotation as well, though the Mets have not ruled out a long relief role for the right-hander they acquired from the Oakland A’s at the trade deadline last season. This was the final arbitration year for the 31-year-old, setting him up for free agency next winter.

The wild card is Megill, who had a strong September for the second season in a row, but struggled overall last season and again in the postseason. It appears as though the big right-hander is headed to the bullpen, but the Mets would like him to prepare for spring training as though the plan is to have him start.

Torrens, Siri and Taylor are key depth pieces. The Mets haven’t replaced center fielder Harrison Bader this season, instead acquiring Siri, who plays all three outfield positions, from the Tampa Bay Rays. Taylor also plays all over the outfield and was used over Bader in the postseason. The Mets could split time between Taylor and Siri in center, or primarily use Taylor with Siri being used as a defensive replacement later in games.

Torrens came to the Mets in a trade with the Yankees last season and is expected to slot in behind Francisco Alvarez on the depth chart once again.

By getting all six players under contract for the upcoming season, the Mets successfully avoided any arbitration hearings, which can sometimes turn contentious.

Tom Seaver might have retired well before the Mets even knew David Wright‘s name. Wright was only about a year old when Seaver last wore a Mets uniform, yet the two do share a link in a sense with their respective places in team history.

Fittingly, Wright will become the first player since Seaver to have his number retired and be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame on the same day when the team honors the former captain in a dual ceremony July 19 at Citi Field.

“I love Tom,” Wright said Wednesday on a Zoom call. “When Jay [Horwitz] says that we had a lot of conversations about the history and Tom’s performances in a Mets uniform and baseball in general, it was a lot more of me listening to Tom tell me about his performances and his career in a Mets uniform.”

Wright grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, at a time when the Mets still had a minor league team in nearby Tidewater. His father Rhon, a retired police officer, would bring Wright and his three younger brothers to games while his colleagues were working. The kids would get autographs from rising stars while their dad caught up with his buddies.

This is where his Mets fandom started to bloom. It’s how he learned about players the players Rhon revered, like Gooden, Strawberry, Howard Johnson and Tim Teufel, who would later coach Wright in the big leagues.

But few players had the same impact on Mets fandom like Seaver. The late, great ace inspired the first generation of Mets fans in much the same way Wright inspired much of the current generation. Seaver and Wright were leaders and winners. They were two of the best to wear the uniform. Their link was solidified in 2013 when Seaver threw out the first pitch to Wright at the All-Star Game at Citi Field.

“Tom literally adored David,” said Horwitz, the Mets’ historian and vice president of alumni public relations. “He loved David’s sense of history. He loved that David knew about Tom’s place in Mets history. In 2013 when Tom threw out the first pitch at the All-Star game at Citi, Tom was thrilled that David caught the pitch.”

Wright, now 42, met Seaver well before the 2013 All-Star Game. The Hall of Fame right-hander used to pull Wright aside before games to talk about life on the field and in the clubhouse. Seaver wanted to know how Wright was getting away from the game after he left the ballpark. Soon, the two were swapping good-natured barbs at one another like they were old friends.

It was comforting for a young third baseman to know a legend like Seaver was looking out for him.

“It was so cool to sit down with him and have those conversations,” Wright said. “I truly mean that. It was so instrumental in my development to have a guy who was. not just for the Mets, but one of the best to ever put the uniform on kind of take me under his wing and try to show me the ropes a little bit.”

After retiring, Seaver and his wife, Nancy, started a vineyard in Calistoga, Calif., just outside of Napa. Wright was invited to work the fields, but it never came to fruition.

“One of my biggest regrets to this day,” Wright said. “Every year, he invited me to his vineyard up in Northern California. He told me to bring my boots because he was going to put me to work. But as a reward, he said that we drink some wine together and have dinner. And I never took him up on that offer, and to this day, I wish I would have taken him up on that offer.”

Wright wasn’t exactly a hometown kid, but he was a Mets fan just the same before he became one of the most prolific hitters ever drafted by the Amazins’. When No. 5 is lifted to the top of Citi Field, it will be alongside Seaver’s No. 41, two players from two very different generations linked in history.

Back when Wright was watching the Tides with his family, he could have never imagined he would have this kind of career, or that he would get tutelage from Seaver and other great players.

But he is happy with how it all worked out.

“It’s just incredibly crazy that I’m drafted by my favorite team,” Wright said. “Our Triple-A team is in my hometown, I’m developed by some of my favorite players and my dad’s favorite players growing up. Whether it’s Hojo or Gary Carter, Tim Teufel, Straw was around, Doc was around, Keith was around — I mean, it’s crazy, the coincidence. Then, to spend my entire career with the Mets, I think that’s what makes this relationship so special, not just between me and the team, but between me and the city, and the fan base. It’s a genuine connection.”

Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen released a statement congratulating the team’s most recent captain.

“David Wright personified class on and off the field. David is the definition of a Met,” the owners said. “He grew up going to Mets Triple-A games in his hometown of Norfolk, Va., and was drafted by the organization in 2001. His spectacular career included seven All-Star appearances, two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards before he played an emotional final game in 2018.

“For a generation of Mets fans, he was their Tom Seaver, so it is a fitting tribute that only David and Tom have gone into the Mets Hall of Fame and had their number retired on the same day.”

No. 5 will become the 11th number taken out of circulation. Wright joins former Mets greats Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza, Jerry Koosman, Keith Hernandez, Willie Mays, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, as well as late managers Gil Hodges and Casey Stengel, and Jackie Robinson, whose No. 42 is retired from all of Major League Baseball.

“Excited, humbled, honored are just some of the words to describe the thought of this summer’s Mets Hall of Fame induction and seeing No. 5 up at Citi Field next to some of the best players to ever play the game,” Wright said in a statement thanking the Cohens and the fans.

The former third baseman became one of the most prolific homegrown hitters in club history after being drafted by the Mets No. 38 overall in 2001 out of Hickory High School in Virginia. He  still leads the franchise in hits (1,777), RBI (970), runs (949), doubles (390), extra-base hits (658) and walks (762), he’s second in games played (1,585) and home runs (242), third in batting average (.296) and fourth in stolen bases (196) and on-base percentage (.376).

The fourth player ever to be named a captain for the Mets, Wright was an influential figure in the clubhouse throughout his 14-year career. His career was cut short due to spinal stenosis, a degenerative back condition that limited him to only 77 games over his final three seasons (2015-2018).

Wright was forced into retirement at the age of 35, saying goodbye to the only team he had ever known in an emotional ceremony at Citi Field on September 29, 2018. While Wright admitted that he wasn’t ready to stop playing, his body said otherwise.

Questions about his legacy followed with many wondering what he could have accomplished had he not suffered from back and neck injuries. But he had little left to prove after helping the Mets win a pennant in 2015 and putting together a body of work worthy of Hall of Fame votes.

Since retiring, Wright has remained with the organization as an ambassador, traveling to New York and Florida from his home in Los Angeles several times a year to fulfill various duties. Wright helps mentor prospects, aids in sponsorship events and even hosts the Battle of the Badges, the Mets’ annual charity game between members of the NYPD and NYFD.

“I can’t quite put into words the appreciation I have for the city of New York and Mets fans,” Wright said. “For 15 years I felt like I had 40,000 friends and family members in the stands each night. It was an honor of a lifetime taking the field as your captain and I truly feel like this honor is just as much yours as it is mine.”

Following the ceremony, the Mets will host the Cincinnati Reds at 4:10 p.m.

“I hope so,” said SNY analyst and former Mets first baseman Todd Zeile during the team’s annual kids holiday party earlier this month. “When Soto went off the board, you thought, ‘OK, that might start opening up some conversations with other free agents. As other guys are coming off the board, I think the best option is to have Pete back at first base. I think there’s certainly an objective to have that…

“Santa knows a few things, but I know the answer to that. We’ll have to wait and see.”

A market for Alonso has been slow to form, but to be fair, the position player market is still moving at a glacial pace. It’s a good year to be a free agent pitcher, but not a position player.

The Mets have been open about their desire to bring the popular homegrown first baseman back to Queens, and other teams expect he will return to the only team he’s ever known as well. The Mets want to gauge his market first, but it’s unclear what his market looks like and how other teams view him. A five-year contract in the realm of $120 million could be the target, but that’s just speculation.

There is a lot to like, but a lot to question as well.

Alonso handles the New York spotlight better than most. He’s gregarious, engaging, prides himself on being a part of the community and, of course, hits a lot of home runs, especially in big moments. He’s coming off two down seasons, but he still hit 46 homers in 2023 and 34 last season.

The Mets got their big bopper with Soto, but Alonso would provide protection and length in the lineup. He brings durability, having played 162 games last year at age 29, and leadership. People gravitate toward Alonso in the clubhouse. Teammates appreciate his amateur standup comedy acts on the team bus and his eclectic outfits as much as his timely home runs. Alonso even learned Spanish to be able to better communicate with Latin players in their native language.

Alonso shows up in the biggest moments, like when he hit a ninth-inning home run in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

But his production has declined over the last two years. He hits and throws right-handed and while he’s a fine defender, he’s not exactly a Gold Glover. He can make some tough picks, but his minus-9 Out Above Average last season doesn’t paint the most sure-handed picture.

Two years of regression before age 30 certainly invites some skepticism. Alonso isn’t hitting the low slider like he used to.

The Mets could pivot away from him by signing third baseman Alex Bregman and moving Mark Vientos to first base, but there doesn’t appear to be much interest in that plan. It still makes the most sense for Alonso to return to the team that drafted and developed him, but with 10 other free agent first baseman and a few made available through trades, it’s a little crowded right now.

Maybe Santa Clause will deliver Alonso. Or, maybe fans will start asking St. Nick for someone else instead.

But no, the Mets aren’t in the market for an ace. By signing Canning to a one-year, $4.25 million contract with bonuses, the Mets added depth to a group that lacked frontline starters, but was high on projects. Clay Holmes is moving to a starting role and Frankie Montas is hoping to keep momentum going from a good second-half of his 2024 season, his first since undergoing shoulder surgery.

Adding Manaea, however, is a different story. It’s a much more imposing rotation with him in it. The lefty will be 33 when the season starts, but with the way he’s managed to reinvent himself by going to Driveline, adding pitches and changing his repertoire, the Mets are confident that he’ll continue to pitch effectively over next year and beyond.

If the season started tomorrow, the Mets’ rotation would look like this:

• Right-hander Kodai Senga
• Left-hander Sean Manaea
• Left-hander David Peterson
• Right-hander Frankie Montas
• Right-hander Clay Holmes
• Right-hander Paul Blackburn

Depth options: Right-hander Griffin Canning, right-hander Tylor Megill, right-hander Jose Butto, right-hander Brandon Sproat

Sproat is the Mets’ top pitching prospect and while it’s unlikely he wins a spot in the rotation out of spring training, if he continues to progress through the minor leagues like he did last season, he’ll get a call-up at some point.

This is a much more formidable rotation than it was a few weeks ago. The Mets have also met with Japanese pitcher Rōki Sasaki, but the team isn’t hinging their hopes on a pitcher that all 30 clubs are after. President of baseball operations David Stearns previously said the Mets would have to operate normally until Sasaki comes to a decision in January.

Still, the fact that the Mets are staying away from free agent pitchers like Burnes and have for the last two winters has been a curious approach to some. The Mets tried to trade for Garrett Crochet and they’ve been linked in other trade talks as well. Awarding Manaea $75 million over thee years should quiet some of that chatter.

“We’re going to continue to evaluate the market,” Stearns said earlier this month at the winter meetings in Dallas. “Where we see an opportunity to bring in players that we think are going to make us better, we’re certainly going to pursue that. But with some of the moves we’ve been able to make and are working on making, I think we’re getting to a level where it’s no longer a necessity.”

The hope is that pitchers like Holmes, Montas and Canning will benefit from working with the pitching group in the lab in Port St. Lucie and in New York in much the same ways Manaea and Luis Severino did last season.

Canning is a perfect candidate. He was traded by the Los Angeles Angels to the Atlanta Braves for Jorge Soler after the season and then waived in what was essentially a salary dump for the Mets’ NL East foes after going 6-13 with a 5.19 ERA and a 5.26 FIP across 171 2/3 innings (32 starts) last season. The former second-round pick out of UCLA has good secondary pitches with a slurve, a gyro-like slider and a changeup with a ton of movement, but he doesn’t throw particularly hard.

The Mets clearly see something in his profile that intrigues them and he appears to be a prime candidate for a swingman role.

The addition of assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel could be a boon for someone like Canning. Druschel will be an asset for Holmes as well, who praised his knowledge and coaching.

“Two things I think that pertain a lot to me, which is the pitch design and workload management,” Holmes said earlier this month on a Zoom call with reporters. “He brings a lot to the table. Super excited to have that familiar face, you know, as I go through this transition, super happy to still be with Desi. It was a great hire for the Mets. And, like I said, he has a ton to offer.”

The Mets will next turn their attention to the bullpen, with only five regulars returning, right-handers Edwin Diaz, Reed Garrett, Dedniel Nuñez, Sean Reid-Foley and Butto. There are various ways to address the bullpen and it’s a group that changes often throughout the course of the season to begin with, so the need for more relief arms isn’t as pressing as the need for a first baseman.

Stearns is adept at building through the margins and without Manaea, the pitching staff looked pretty marginal. But he solidifies the group and gives the Mets more of a punch at the front end. The Mets are looking formidable once again.

Juan Soto, however, appears to still be clean-shaven. But then again, he doesn’t appear to have ever been a big beard guy.

The Mets didn’t set out to become the Yankees 2.0, but since David Stearns was hired as the president of baseball operations last October, he has brought a noticeable number of former pinstripe players and personnel to Flushing.

This winter alone the Mets have signed Holmes and Soto, and hired assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel to work with Jeremy Hefner. It’s not necessarily intentional, but Stearns, who grew up a Mets fan, has noticed the narrative around the signings.

“Having grown up here, having grown up a Mets fan, I understand how, for our fanbase, that is the case, but for me, I’m just glad we got the player,” Stearns said earlier this month when the Mets introduced Soto. “Didn’t matter from where he was coming from, I’m just glad we got the player.”

The baseball operations staffers aren’t building a team with the Yankees in mind. What the Yankees are doing isn’t of great concern. The Mets are much more likely to pay attention to the teams in their own division. The offseason moves the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves make are much more important. The same could even be said about the Los Angeles Dodgers since that’s the team to beat in the NL.

However, having familiar faces around does make it easier for the former Yankees like Holmes. It’s not the tipping point, but it’s attractive to have two teams in the same city that both boast contender credentials.

“There are some people there that kind of gone before, there’s a little group there. But I mean, personally, I don’t see it so much as a rival or like you’re switching sides,” Holmes said. “I don’t really view it as too much of like a competition thing. Obviously, I’ve seen in New York, up close and personal, I love the city, I’ve seen the best fans from right across the city. I’ve seen the energy and passion and how much they care, and what they bring to the fanbase. That’s something that, you know, I want to be a part of…

“Being able to stay in New York City and join the Mets, and [seeing] what’s being built there to hopefully keep this momentum going is [what] that drew me there.”

Holmes isn’t naive to the fact that he’ll likely receive some boos when the Mets visit Yankee Stadium next summer. It’s nothing he hasn’t already experienced. It’s Soto who needs to be prepared for the barrage after declaring New York a “Mets town” during his introductory press conference.

“It’s been a Mets town for a long time,” Soto said. “So I think we’ve just got to bring it to the top. Definitely, a championship is going to tell you if it’s a Yankees or Mets town.”

This is why Soto asked owner Steve Cohen how many World Series championships he wants to win over the next decade. Cohen said two to four.

“My view is, it’s such a big city, right? There’s plenty of room for both of us,” Cohen said. “So, you know, I like the fans, but you want to win championships — plural, championships. They’re one of the teams in the way. That’s always the case, there’s always somebody in the way, but they’re annually in the way. OK, well, guess what? They’re in the American League. I have to face them for the World Series. OK? I mean, well, I got the Dodgers right, and the Dodgers are equally formidable.”

Last year, the Subway Series brought us Grimace Palooza. Who knows what it will bring in 2025, but ultimately, it’s an intriguing storyline that will add fuel to the rivalry’s fire.

While he has yet to set up any sort of foundation or charity, it appears to be in the works with his new 15-year deal having been inked. Soto is looking at various avenues to help youth baseball players.

“The first thing that came to my mind, I gotta try to help a lot of people,” Soto said earlier this month at his introductory press conference. “Back in New York, there’s a lot of kids that have talent, and they can have a bright future but they don’t have the support. I feel like when you sign a contract like that, that’s the first thing it brings in mind — to help the community, and try to help everybody around my country, and try to create more chances [and] more opportunities for the people to grow and keep moving forward.”

Soto has already earned more than $82 million in salary throughout his career, more when you factor in endorsement deals and bonuses. The outfielder spent last holiday season delivering baseball gear and other supplies to families in the Dominican Republic, and in 2021, he used his All-Star prize money to help the Olympic athletes from his home country.

Soto made it to the semifinal round of the Home Run Derby at Coors Field before being eliminated by former Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who went on to win his second straight Derby title. His All-Star week earnings came out to about $200,000, all of which went to sponsoring Dominican athletes in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Soto sponsored athletes participating in various sports at the urging of Emilio Bonifacio, his former Washington Nationals teammate. Bonifacio, a 12-year MLB veteran, helped the Dominican baseball team win a bronze medal, the country’s first-ever Olympic medal in a team sport.

“I know where they all came from and what they have been through,” Soto told the Washington Post at the time. “The process we have to all go through is hard. We have to go from one side of the country to the other for practices. We had to go hours and hours without eating sometimes. We have to practice and have no proteins, or shoes, or not the right clothing or equipment. So it’s pretty tough to do that and still be motivated. What they did for the Olympics, it’s just amazing.”

With his new contract, Soto wants to give kids optimism for the future through baseball, whether that future involves playing baseball or working in it.

“You never know who is going to be the next one,” Soto said at Citi Field. “You never know who is going to be the next Bryce Harper, or who is going to be the next Scott Boras, or even the next Steve Cohen. I want to give them a little hope. You. I feel like that’s one of the biggest things, just give them hope so they can keep playing.”

It’s a three-year, $75 million contract for the left-hander, with more than $20 million deferred from 2035-2044. This brings the Mets’ total payroll for 2025 to around $280 million, according to FanGraphs. With more retooling still needed, the Mets are likely to reach the “Cohen Tax” threshold of $301 million, named for owner Steve Cohen.

An emotional Manaea was hopeful for a return to Queens, but wanted to test free agency first. After one of the best seasons of his career, no agent in their right mind would have let him accept his option for 2025.

Manaea, who turns 33 in February, went 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA and 184 strikeouts over a career-high 181.2 innings in 2024, and he was particularly dominant as the season wore on. His 110.1 innings from June 26 on led MLB pitchers, while his 3.02 ERA over that stretch — a span of 18 starts — was the 11th-best mark in the National League.

He pitched at least 6.2 innings in 12 of his final 18 starts, turning into a workhorse for a Mets rotation that was without No. 1 starter Kodai Senga for all but one start in the regular season due to shoulder and calf injuries.

Manaea tweaked his delivery during that dynamic run, using a lower arm slot after observing Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale during a July 25 game between the teams.

“I don’t really have any control over that right now, and I’m even thinking about it, but, yeah. I mean, I loved my time here, love New York, love the organization of all the people here,” Manaea said after the Mets were eliminated from the postseason in Los Angeles in October.

While his 4.74 ERA in the postseason did not match his regular-season success, Manaea was solid in three of his four playoff starts.

A popular fixture in the clubhouse and with the fans, Manaea’s laid-back demeanor and curiosity about the world proved to be a perfect fit in New York. He took the subway to home games, taught chess to minor leaguers in spring training and explored New York’s international cultural scene. His recent wedding featured Francisco Lindor’s daughters, Kalina and Amapola, as flower girls and Manaea often joked about inviting the entire team if he could.

While the Mets may never be able to replicate the incredible chemistry they attributed much of their success to last season, bringing back Manaea undoubtedly helps preserve some of the positive aspects of the culture in the clubhouse.

“Definitely one of the best [seasons] of my career,” Manaea said after Game 6. “Super proud of the work I was able to put in with everybody here on and off the field, and just super proud of this whole year as a whole.”

Manaea returns to a Mets rotation headlined by Senga, along with offseason signings Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes. Montas and Manaea are close friends from their Oakland A’s days, and the right-handed starter was lobbying for the Mets to bring Manaea back before the winter meetings began.

“I hope that’s the case,” Montas said earlier this month. “I hope he can sign with us because definitely, he will be a guy that will help this team to get to the next level and get to the promised land, for sure.”

David Peterson, Paul Blackburn and Tylor Megill are all set to return, while Griffin Canning, who made 31 starts for the Los Angeles Angels last season, signed a one-year deal with the Mets last week, adding to their depth. The Mets plan to use a six-man rotation for parts of the season, depending on their schedule.

Manaea previously pitched for the A’s, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants and owns a 4.00 ERA over nine MLB seasons. A sweeper that Manaea added to his arsenal in 2023 with the Giants has proved vital to his recent reinvention.

The Mets signed Manaea last offseason to a two-year, $28 million contract with an opt-out, which he exercised in November to become a free agent. He also rejected the Mets’ one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer, meaning the Mets would have received draft pick compensation had he left.

The Manaea agreement continued a busy offseason for the Mets, who signed former Yankees slugger Juan Soto to a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract earlier his month. Manaea, like Soto, is represented by agent Scott Boras, as is first baseman Pete Alonso. The Mets could look to lock up Alonso next, with several sources throughout the industry expecting the Polar Bear to return to the team that drafted him.

While the top goal is winning multiple World Series championships, Cohen also wanted to turn the Mets into a global brand and a premier destination for MLB’s most elite players, coaches and executives. Juan Soto choosing the Mets over a pool of big spending clubs, including the Yankees, shows just how the perception of the team has changed.

On a phone call with Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, Cohen had a moment of realization that the Mets were no longer what they were when he took over his childhood team.

“I think we should talk about the Cohen effect on Cohen,” Boras said earlier this month after the Mets introduced Soto at Citi Field. “The next day after [Soto signed], Steve called me and goes, ‘I had no idea — this is an international event.’ I think it brought itself to that.”

Fans of the Mets and Yankees alike have been arguing for a week over which team truly represents New York. The Yankees have always had global appeal, with rappers, actors and even Ohio-born LeBron James having donned the classic hat in paparazzi photos over the years. The team has long had a multitude of stars that became household names, from Babe Ruth to Joe DiMaggio to Derek Jeter.

Yankee Stadium is both a tourist destination and a place for business meetings.

The Mets have always appealed to a more working-class Queens community. It’s the team of Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Hank Azaria and well, Grimace.

Citi Field always felt like the antithesis of Yankee Stadium, but never more so than during Game 3 of the NLDS when Grimace came out holding Pete Alonso’s lucky playoff pumpkin and all of the wacky mascots from the 2024 season showed up as well: Glizzy Iggy the dog, the “Rally Pimp” and even 97-year-old Seymour Weiner, who recorded a video message for the fans. It felt like a baseball version of “Avengers: Endgame.”

Still, the Mets lagged behind the Yankees in attendance last season. But Soto seems to be driving ticket sales already, with Cohen recently saying sales have “exploded” in a post on X.

This is exactly what Cohen wanted when he approached Stearns about pursuing Soto in free agency, and it’s why he had no problem including so many perks for Soto’s family in his record, 15-year, $765 million contract.

“One thing I’ve learned a long time ago, if you want something that’s amazing, it’s going to be uncomfortable,” Cohen said. “It’s never going to be comfortable. And so I always stretch a little bit, you know, because I know that’s what it takes to get it done.”

It’s almost hard to remember how difficult it was for the Mets to attract a general manager in 2022.

Francisco Lindor helped the Mets take a big first step toward these goals when he signed a 10-year, $341 million extension just hours before Opening Day in 2021. Buck Showalter helped them take another step with a 101-win season in 2022. A clubhouse culture was established and so were certain standards.

Meanwhile, Cohen and his wife, Alex, worked behind the scenes to transform the club. Alex renovated the family room and took over the Amazin’ Mets Foundation. Steve infused the club with cash to help bring player development up to speed and improve the team’s technology. The Mets now have an enviable analytics department, more support staff at just about every level of the minor leagues and, finally, a pitching lab in Port St. Lucie, something just about every other team has had for years.

“We were a place — and are a place — that players want to play,” president of baseball operations David Stearns. “That we have a culture where everyone [from] players, coaches [and] staff enjoy coming to the ballpark every day and enjoy each other, I think that was part of it.”

Stearns himself helped the Mets take another impactful step. He was exactly the type of savvy executive Cohen had been looking for.

Soto got everything he wanted with the Mets, showing just how far the team has come.