JUPITER, Fla.— Sean Manaea’s fastball isn’t exactly hopping.
The left-hander had a second straight Grapefruit League start Thursday in which his velocity was notably down, and he slogged through his outing against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Manaea averaged 88.8 mph with his four-seam fastball. Last season, he averaged 91.7 mph with that pitch.
On this day he allowed three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk over 2 ²/₃ innings in the Mets’ 3-1 loss.
Manaea said he is not concerned.
“I feel healthy, I feel good,” Manaea said.
Manaea said he may just need additional reps to regain his velocity. Manager Carlos Mendoza also downplayed the significance of the dip in velocity.
“I know it’s going to be a topic here, but I am not concerned as long as he keeps telling us he’s healthy,” Mendoza said. “And that is what he keeps telling us, that he feels great.”
Mendoza added that it might take “a while” for Manaea’s velocity to resurface, underscoring his addition of a cutter to his arsenal. Manaea missed the first half of last season while rehabbing an oblique strain and pitched to a 5.64 ERA in 15 appearances for the club.
“He went through a lot last year and now finding the mechanics, the arm slot, there’s a lot going on,” Mendoza said. “But I thought overall he got better in the second and third inning. It’s going to come down to him feeling good, and it might take a few weeks, it might take a month, who knows?”
Clay Holmes will forgo the remainder of the World Baseball Classic to prepare for the Mets’ season.
The right-hander was headed back to spring training Thursday, according to Mendoza, after conversations with Team USA officials determined he was unlikely to receive the innings buildup needed for his first start this season.
Team USA has advanced to the WBC quarterfinals against Canada on Friday.
Holmes pitched three scoreless innings for Team USA against Great Britain last week.
“It was hard for Team USA to guarantee him [innings], especially where they are at, where every game is pretty much an elimination game,” Mendoza said. “It’s hard, especially as a piggyback, to guarantee the number of pitches we are asking him to get.”
Holmes will piggyback Kodai Senga on Friday, according to Mendoza.
