Mets place Tylor Megill on injured list with right shoulder strain
Tylor Megill of the Mets during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field on Sunday. Credit: Errol Anderson
Eventually, something good will have to happen to the Mets this season. Not on Monday afternoon, though.
A day after getting swept in their opening series against the Brewers, the Mets’ rotation was dealt a significant blow, with Tylor Megill landing on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain. With Kodai Senga on the IL because of a posterior capsule strain, the Mets appear likely to be down two starting pitchers until May.
On Monday, Megill said the injury “seems like nothing too serious,” adding that he will be shut down for at least five days and reevaluated. He didn’t know if he’ll be able to return this month.
The Mets called up reliever Reed Garrett from Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move, but, barring another injury, they won’t be able to bring up another starter from their 40-man roster until April 12. That means Joey Lucchesi and Jose Butto are unlikely rotation replacements for the time being.
The team could, however, sign one of the handful of remaining free agents in the starting pitching market. There’s also the option of calling up a top prospect in Christian Scott or Mike Vasil, who are not on the 40-man roster.
“We see it as a positive, talking to the doctors, talking to Megill,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s a low-level shoulder strain . . . [Losing starters is] always concerning. Now we’re down two, but we’ve been talking about our depth and here we are. We’re going to continue to get tested.
“Obviously, we’ve got some young arms in Triple-A, and we’ve got options, but I do feel good about our depth and they’re going to get an opportunity here pretty soon.”
Megill said he felt tightness after throwing a curveball in the fourth inning on Sunday. He powered through the inning but was lifted after that and sent to get an MRI.
The news further soured what had been a bad weekend that was partially lowlighted by more rotational uncertainty — a tough outing by Luis Severino, who did not appear to have recovered from the massive struggles that marred his 2023 season.
“It just hit me out of nowhere,” Megill said of the injury. “I’ve been feeling good, feeling great, and then I just threw one pitch and then all of a sudden, just a little pull, a little tightness. It sucks . . .
“I’m obviously not happy about it. I felt good this whole offseason, I felt good all spring and then this happens to happen in my first start back, and obviously, I wasn’t looking for that to happen and it just sucks. Obviously, I can only do what I can do right now.”
He added that it was nowhere near as severe as the shoulder injury that cost him three months during the 2022 season. “The pain isn’t anything significant,” he said.
Megill earned the fifth and final rotation spot after a strong spring training, which was possible only because of Senga’s injury.
Mendoza said Monday that Senga played catch for back-to-back days for the first time since hurting himself, calling the progress “a big deal” as he looks to eventually move to mound work.
“He’s letting it loose, and doing it for back-to-back days is another step that he has to clear,” Mendoza said. “We’ll see how he responds tomorrow, but I don’t anticipate it being an issue. But for him to go out there and play catch on back-to-back days is a pretty big step forward.”
Doc is in
Dwight Gooden is still getting used to the idea of his No. 16 being immortalized at Citi Field on April 14. “It’s starting [to sink in] now,” he said on a Zoom with reporters. “Monday, I was in the stadium with Jay [Horwitz]. We did a walk-through, and as we walked on the field, that’s when it definitely started hitting me. I’m texting with teammates. It’s starting to hit me now. A couple of months ago, it hadn’t seemed real. It was kind of surreal.”
Tickets still are available for the retirement ceremony.
Ramirez’s ban reduced
Yohan Ramirez’s suspension for throwing behind Rhys Hoskins on Saturday was reduced from three games to two. Ramirez, who pitched three innings during his appeal Sunday, began serving his suspension Monday.
With Anthony Rieber
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
