Report: Mets' Manaea opts out of $13.5M option

New York Mets left-hander Sean Manaea opted out of his $13.5-million option for next season to test free agency, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Manaea is expected to garner multi-year interest on the open market after helping the Mets make their first NLCS appearance since 2015, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, who adds the team will likely extend a qualifying offer to the pitcher.

New York will get draft-pick compensation if he rejects the qualifying offer and signs with another club.

The 32-year-old is coming off his best season since 2021, authoring a 3.47 ERA with 1.08 WHIP and 184 strikeouts over a career-high 181 2/3 innings (32 starts).