Mets will call up Tylor Megill to start Saturday vs. Atlanta, may keep him in rotation
Tylor Megill of the Mets pitches during the first inning against the Astros at Citi Field on June 29. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Tylor Megill was the starting rotation replacement for Kodai Senga when it became evident that the Mets expected ace would need to start the season on the injured list with a shoulder capsule injury. This weekend he will become the instrument that is expected to allow Senga to be at his best when he returns.
Senga is scheduled to make his season debut Friday against Atlanta at Citi Field and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced Thursday that Megill has been tabbed to come up from Triple-A Syracuse to start on Saturday, and potentially become a sixth member of the rotation.
The Mets have been ruminating on who would fill that role, even contemplating returning Jose Butto to the rotation from his current role as an effective reliever as Senga ramped up in a minor league rehab assignment.
“Where we’re at bullpen-wise, [Megill's] fresh,” Mendoza said before the Mets opened a four-game series with Atlanta. “He’s built up and he’s been in this league before. It was an easy decision – we want to go with him on Saturday.”
Senga had an exceptional first season with the Mets in 2023 going 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA and made all but three starts on five or more days of rest. His routine in Japan had been to start on five days of rest, one day longer than is typical in North America. To best replicate the 2023 results, the Mets want to go from five starting pitchers to six.
The other members of the rotation were amenable, if not enthusiastic, about the move. As Luis Severino said earlier this season, “Giving that extra day to everybody is good – the ideal for me is [starting once every] six days.”
Megill has already had two stints with the big-league club. He broke camp with the team but suffered a mild shoulder strain in his first start. He returned in late May and made seven starts before being optioned to the minor leagues when the club needed fresh arms in the bullpen.
Over the eight starts, he is 2-4 with a 5.08 ERA. His only so-called quality start was seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers on May 28.
His last five appearances have all been starts for Syracuse and the righthander is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in them, however he has not gone more than five innings in any of them.
Righthander Christian Scott might have been a consideration for the sixth spot, but he is out with a ligament strain in his elbow.
The righthanded Butto came into the season as a starter and made seven of them for the Mets. In July he was converted to a relief pitcher during closer Edwin Diaz’ 10-game suspension for having an illegal substance on his hand during a game. He’s been a key cog in a bullpen since, appearing in six games – all wins – and recording three wins, two holds and a save. In those games he has pitched 10 1/3 innings to a 0.84 ERA.
But he hasn’t thrown more than 41 pitches in any of them.
“I just feel like where he's at, pitch count-wise, he wasn't going to be able to provide us with the length for Saturday whereas Megill is fully built up,” Mendoza said. “Butto’s been huge for us in the bullpen and we [may] need him today [and] we may need him tomorrow before we have to worry about Saturday. We knew there was going to be a chance Butto was going to be in one of these games before that turn [in the rotation] on Saturday. That’s all there was to it.”
Extra Bases
Outfielder Starling Marte planned to hit and take fly balls on Thursday and said he could be ready to begin running before the end of the week as he makes his way back from a right knee bone bruise that forced him from the June 22 game. . . Righthander Sean Reid-Foley (right shoulder impingement) threw a 21-pitch bullpen session and used all his pitches. He will have one more session before going on a minor-league rehab assignment. . . . Brandon Nimmo was given a routine day off against Atlanta lefty Chris Sale and Jose Iglesias hit second in the order. The starting outfield, left-to-right, was Jeff McNeil, Tyrone Taylor and DJ Stewart.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
