MLB Rumors: Yankees-Marcus Stroman truth, Cubs fans unrest, Pirates whiff

MLB Rumors: Pirates were interested in Sean Manaea, but weren't close to a deal

The Pittsburgh Pirates started the 2023 season red hot, holding a 20-9 record through the month of April. After the team went 14-7, they signed manager Derek Shelton to a contract extension. But then, the Pirates fell back down to Earth, and missed out on the playoffs with a 76-86 record.

This offseason, the Pirates did re-sign franchise outfielder Andrew McCutchen and brought in the likes of Martin Perez and Rowdy Tellez, but nothing that really moved the needle. The team still needed to bolster their starting rotation.

During the latest episode of The Baseball Insiders podcast, FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray revealed that the Pirates were interested in free agent pitcher Sean Manaea but noted that no deal was close.

"That was definitely a player of interest for the Pirates, I will give you that much, but they were never close," said Murray.

While the Pirates missed out on Manaea, that gave the New York Mets the opportunity to add an arm to their starting rotation. The Mets signed Manaea to a two-year, $28 million contract that contains an opt-out clause after the 2024 season.

Last year, Manaea joined the San Francisco Giants on a one-year deal. While initially part of the starting rotation, Manaea was moved to the bullpen. In 37 games (10 starts), Manaea recorded a 4.44 ERA, a 1.241 WHIP, 128 strikeouts, and 42 walks in 117.2 innings pitched.

The Mets overhauled their starting rotation last season when they dealt Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer to the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, respectively. The Mets are not going big-spending despite being in the running for Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

With a rotation headlined by Kodai Senga and featuring Jose Quintana and Luis Severino, the Mets added Manaea as a back-end arm.

As for the Pirates, it will remain to be seen if the Pirates make another move for some starting rotation help.