Oh, what a difference seven months can make.
When the 2024 season started, the Los Angeles Dodgers looked nearly invincible. Having added Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Teoscar Hernández to an already loaded core, there seemed to be nothing that could stand in L.A.'s way.
As it turned out, health was the one thing that could. The Dodgers' potent starting rotation has been reduced to embers, and on Wednesday night, the hated San Diego Padres could extinguish their torches for good.
However, on the same night the Dodgers watched their starting pitcher Walker Buehler give up six runs (not all of which were his fault), they may have gotten a glimpse of their next postseason ace on the other side of the country.
The New York Mets, who had far lower expectations than the Dodgers coming into the season, are now one step closer than L.A. to a World Series thanks to a 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. And it's all thanks to lefty hurler Sean Manaea.
Manaea was dominant against the Phillies, throwing seven shutout innings before allowing one run to cross in the top of the eighth. He only let up three hits to the talented Phillies lineup, walking two and punching out six.
That's the kind of performance the Dodgers have been craving in the postseason. The last time one of their starters went at least seven innings in a playoff game was Max Scherzer in Game 3 of the 2021 National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants.
It's not as though Manaea has only come alive in the playoffs, either. He went 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA this season, pitching 181 2/3 innings, and the Mets were 23-9 overall in games he started.
Manaea is currently projected to receiver a two-year, $29 million projection by Spotrac, but it seems almost laughable to think that number might be enough to land him. After raising his stock like this, he'll want an average annual value over $20 million, and perhaps a third and fourth year as well.
If anyone is going to meet his demands, it should be the Dodgers. They have the need, they have the playoff desperation, and we all know they have the cash. Don't be surprised to see Manaea donning Dodger blue in 2025.
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