Sean Manaea to re-sign with Mets for $75 million over 3 years, AP source says

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean Manaea is set to return to the New York Mets on a $75 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal was subject to a successful physical.

Manaea blossomed into New York's top starting pitcher this year during his first season with the team, going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts. The left-hander declined his player option for 2025, passing up the final $13.5 million of a $28 million, two-year deal he signed in January, to become a free agent for the third straight offseason.

Then he turned down a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Mets last month to hit the open market again.

The reunion with Manaea, who turns 33 on Feb. 1, gives New York a much-needed frontline starter to help complete its reconstructed rotation. After signing slugger Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year deal, owner Steve Cohen has committed $916.25 million to five free agents this offseason — four of them starting pitchers.

The club also inked right-handed newcomers Frankie Montas ($34 million, two years), Clay Holmes ($38 million, three years) and Griffin Canning ($4.25 million, one year). Holmes, a two-time All-Star as the New York Yankees' closer, plans to convert from a reliever to a starter.

Manaea struck out 184 batters and walked 63 in a career-high 181 2/3 innings this year. He lowered his arm slot in midseason to emulate another nasty left-hander, NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, and became New York's most effective starter down the stretch, with a 6-2 record and 3.09 ERA in his final 12 regular-season outings.

During the playoffs, Manaea went 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA in four starts covering 19 innings as the Mets made a surprise run to the National League Championship Series.

A trio of veteran starters then became free agents: Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana. Severino signed a $67 million, three-year contract with the Athletics.

Manaea's agreement matches the $75 million, three-year deal free agent right-hander Nathan Eovaldi got to remain with the Texas Rangers. Eovaldi turns 35 in February.

Manaea, Montas and Holmes figure to have spots in a projected 2025 rotation that includes incumbents Kodai Senga and David Peterson. Canning, Tylor Megill, Paul Blackburn and Jose Buttó are among the candidates who could help round out the group.

A nine-year major league veteran, Manaea is 77-62 with a 4.00 ERA in 198 starts and 30 relief appearances with Oakland (2016-21), San Diego (2022), San Francisco (2023) and the Mets. He pitched a no-hitter for the A's against Boston in April 2018.

Manaea was selected 34th overall by the Kansas City Royals in the 2013 amateur draft out of Indiana State.

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

FILE - New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 6 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee on Monday accused Matt Gaetz of “regularly” paying women, including a 17-year-old girl, for sex and purchasing and using illicit drugs all while the Florida Republican was a member of Congress.

The 37-page report by the bipartisan panel includes explicit details of sex-filled parties and vacations that Gaetz, now 42, took part in while representing Florida's western panhandle. The findings conclude that he violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office.

“The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report states.

The report brings to a close a nearly five-year investigation into Gaetz. Its release comes after at least one Republican joined all five Democrats on the panel earlier this month in a secret vote to release the report about their former colleague despite initial opposition from GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to publishing findings about a former member of Congress.

While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. Gaetz has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing, saying last week that he would have “no opportunity to debate or rebut” the findings as a former member of the House.

On Monday, Gaetz filed a lawsuit seeking to block the report’s release, saying it contains “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his “standing and reputation in the community.” Gaetz’s complaint argues he’s no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction since he resigned from Congress.

“The Committee’s position that it may nonetheless publish potentially defamatory findings about a private citizen over whom it claims no jurisdiction represents an unprecedented expansion of Congressional power that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s lawyers wrote in their request for a temporary restraining order.

The often secretive, bipartisan panel has investigated claims against Gaetz since 2021. However, its work became more urgent last month when President-elect Donald Trump picked Gaetz as his attorney general nominee. Gaetz resigned from Congress that same day, putting him outside the purview of the Ethics Committee's jurisdiction.

But Democrats had pressed to make the report public even after Gaetz was no longer a member and had withdrawn as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this month to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican voted against it.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R- Fla., speaks at AmericaFest, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)