Sean Manaea had what could be considered his best season in the majors last year. He finally emerged as the top of the rotation arm that the Oakland A’s had been waiting for, giving the team a solid 1-2 punch with Chris Bassitt. While there were bouts of inconsistency, Manaea was finally what the A’s needed.
His breakout could not have been timed better. Manaea is in his final year of arbitration and is set to receive a significant pay raise this offseason. Meanwhile, for the A’s, his breakout will be costly in terms of their budget. As the team is reportedly looking to chop payroll by a significant amount, that could lead to players such as Manaea being placed on the trade block.
Three potential landing spots for Sean Manaea
The A’s would not have a shortage of suitors for Manaea. Virtually any team with designs on competing for a championship would want to add him to their stable of arms. The A’s may well be able to restock their farm system in a hurry if they trade him away.
Sean Manaea is expected to be on the trade block once the Oakland A’s are ready to make deals. Let’s look at three possible landing spots.
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs would seem to be a strange landing spot for Sean Manaea. After all, they did just have a fire sale only four months ago.
But the Cubs have also stated that they are not looking at going through an extended rebuilding process. Instead, they are looking to spend in free agency and potentially reload for another run at the postseason.
That is a difficult task given the state of their pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation. Kyle Hendricks and Wade Miley are the top two starters, which is not what any rotation with postseason aspirations should look like. Chicago needs another arm, one that can possibly lead the pitching staff into a playoff spot.
Manaea may not be the ace that the Cubs need, but he would be an upgrade at the top of their rotation. He would also remove one of the other question marks that they have in their rotation at present, providing much more depth. Although he would not solve all of their pitching needs, Manaea would be a start.
The Chicago Cubs are looking to reload for another run at the postseason. Adding Sean Manaea would help with that goal.