2022 Padres Player Review: Sean Manaea

2022 Regular Season Statistics

1.1 fWAR, 30 G (28 GS), 158 IP, 4.96 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 156 K, 50 BB, 29 HR, 3 HBP

Positives From This Season

Sean Manaea was not a player most fans expected the Padres to have on the roster for Opening Day when spring training started but once they acquired him during Cactus League games, I expected him to be a reliable starter who would eat innings for Bob Melvin. Well, that’s what fans got for most of the season.

Manaea almost made 30 starts and ended up pitching at least six innings in 17 of his starts, which was more 6+ inning starts than he made in 2021 with Oakland.

Negatives From This Season

While Manaea had a strong first three months of the season, he couldn’t be relied upon in July (5.40 ERA), August (7.88 ERA) or September (5.25 ERA) to consistently give the Padres six innings. The 30-year-old went six innings in just five of his last 15 games (not including September 3 against the Dodgers because he came out of the bullpen for one inning).

The postseason is where it matters most and while it was just one appearance, he was one of the reasons why the Padres couldn’t win the National League pennant. After Nick Martinez pitched three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, Manaea allowed a run in the fourth (Bryson Stott singled in a run) and three runs in the fifth (Rhys Hoskins hit a three-run home run and Bryce Harper doubled in a run).

So to recap, he entered the game with a 4-3 lead, lost it in the fourth (and was bailed out by a great throw from Jurickson Profar to throw out Stott and a diving catch from Jake Cronenworth), got the lead back thanks to Juan Soto in the fifth, and then gave it right back up in the bottom of the inning.

That pitching performance left a bad taste in a lot of Padres fans mouths so I’d guess most people don’t want him back in 2023. With that said, Manaea might want to return because he loved this year’s team, he obviously enjoys having Bob Melvin as his manager and San Diego is a contender.

If you wish to listen or watch me talk more about Manaea’s season on the Talking Friars Podcast/YouTube show, click here!