Manaea (oblique) begins rehab assignment, Montas (lat) continues his

DENVER -- Sean Manaea’s reintroduction to game action didn’t go quite as smoothly as he might have hoped, but for Manaea, it was a necessary start.

The left-hander allowed four runs (three earned) over 1 2/3 innings Friday for High-A Brooklyn at Wilmington, striking out two batters and walking none. For Manaea, however, the most important number was 36 -- the number of pitches he threw.

Manaea will need several more rehab starts to stretch out to 90-plus pitches before the Mets will consider activating him. He has been nursing a strained right oblique since Spring Training.

Last year, Manaea was the Mets’ most effective rotation member, with a 3.47 ERA over 32 starts.

Another member of the Mets’ planned Opening Day rotation, right-hander Frankie Montas, is also on assignment as he recovers from a right lat strain. Montas, who is about two weeks ahead of Manaea in his recovery, has allowed nine runs over his first 8 1/3 innings in the Minors. He threw 61 pitches in his most recent start and is scheduled to appear again next week.