Mets Place Manaea in Bullpen to Open Season

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced Saturday that veteran left-hander Sean Manaea will open the season in the bullpen rather than in the starting rotation, opting for a traditional five-man group amid a surplus of healthy pitchers.

The Mets plan to begin with Freddy Peralta, David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga in the rotation for the first two turns through the order. Peralta, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in January, is slated to start the opener Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field. The team then travels for three games in St. Louis against the Cardinals and four in San Francisco versus the Giants.

Manaea, 34, will serve in a piggyback role during the early weeks, following one of the starters with an extended relief outing. Mendoza did not specify which games Manaea would pitch but noted the schedule's off days reduce the immediate need for a sixth starter. "We have six guys throwing the ball really well," Mendoza told reporters. "We were pretty honest with all of them at the beginning of camp. If everyone was healthy, we were going to have to make some tough decisions, and one of them was going to...