Mets Stick to Five-Man Rotation, Keep Manaea in Bullpen

0:00It's April 8th, I'm Cory with the story, and this is MLB News Today Baseball News powered by AI. 11 games into the season, the New York Mets sit at seven wins and four losses hot on a four-game winning streak. Their starting pitches are a huge part of that fire, ranking sixth in the National League with a 3.34 ERA. But Sean Manaya, who got bumped from the rotation early, is still chilling in the bullpen. Major Carlos Mendoza just shut down talk of switching to a six-man setup during this nine-game stretch. He is sticking with the five-man crew because it is working smooth right now. No need to mess with success when the top starters are locked in. Mendoza wants to keep everyone on their normal routines, and he says they will only expand if it becomes necessary. Fans and analysts are nodding along, seeing the wisdom after last year's chaos with pitchers. Manaya did get some work in last Thursday against the Giants, tossing 3.2 innings on 74 pitches in a blowout.

1:00That keeps him ready, but the team values his multi-inning relief role more at the moment. With memories of using an MLB, record 46 pitchers last season still fresh. The Mets front office is playing its smart and steady. This approach could keep them rolling deep into the year.