ANAHEIM — The Mets are sticking with a five-man rotation for the time being.
The club optioned Tylor Megill to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday in order to activate right-hander Paul Blackburn, who reported to Anaheim to meet the team that traded for him Tuesday. Megill was set to pitch at the stadium he grew up going to as a kid in Los Alamitos, California, but when the Mets made the decision to start right-hander Paul Blackburn against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night, the writing was on the wall.
The Mets used Megill out of the bullpen Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins and they needed a fresh arm, plus the club intends to keep him stretched out as a starter. The only way to make everything work was to option him.
“Look. I mean, nobody wants to go down to the minors, right? But he understands,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Friday at Angel Stadium. “We made a move, and we need to keep him stretched out. So he’ll just continue to build some of the things that he was doing well here, some of the pitches that he was working on.”
Megill was called up July 27 to take Kodai Senga’s spot in the rotation after the ace went down with a strained calf in his first start of the season. He took a loss to the Atlanta Braves in his ninth Major League start of the season, allowing four earned runs on five hits over six innings, and he allowed one earned run in two innings of relief work against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
However, the Mets were encouraged by what they saw, in particular his splitter, nicknamed the “American Spork,” and his two-seam fastball to right-handed hitters.
“The [splitter] is becoming a weapon, especially against lefties, but he’s now throwing a two-seam to righties that we saw against the Braves,” Mendoza said. “So just like I said, go down to Triple-A and just continue to work on your pitches and the things you need to do. He’s going to be a big part of this thing moving forward.”
The 29-year-old Megill is 2-5 with a career-worst 5.17 ERA in nine Major League starts this season and 10 appearances, and 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in six Triple-A starts. The Mets value the starting depth, especially in Triple-A, where some of the starters have struggled this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Infielder Ronny Mauricio had another procedure on his right knee Tuesday to remove scar tissue. Going into the season, the Mets hoped Mauricio could be available by August or September, but they weren’t planning anything around him. That proved to be a smart move.
“Obviously, not the news that you want, but that’s part of the rehab process,” Mendoza said. “He’ll be back. It’s just a little bit of a setback here.”
Mauricio tore his ACL in his right knee during a Dominican Winter League game in December and has not played this season. The Mets said he’s frustrated, but they expect him to be ready by spring training.
Outfielder Starling Marte is with the team in Anaheim but will not make the rest of the road trip with the Mets. Instead, he’ll go to Port St. Lucie to continue rehabbing his knee injury and could possibly get into rehab games as soon as next weekend. Marte is currently doing a running program and participating in light baseball activities.
Right-handed relievers Reed Garrett and Sean Reid-Foley were expected to throw in rehab assignments with Double-A Binghamton on Friday, but with the Rumble Ponies game postponed due to rain, they’ll likely throw Saturday or later in the weekend.
DISNEY DAYS
The Mets left New York Wednesday afternoon and had a full off-day in Orange County on Thursday. Disneyland proved to be a popular attraction with the Mets, some of whom took their families down the 5 freeway to see Mickey and Minnie. Broadcaster Ron Darling did a theme park doubleheader of sorts, taking his son to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm.
Jeff McNeil did a different doubleheader, taking his son Lucas to Disneyland before playing golf in nearby Long Beach, where he went to college. The infielder/outfielder was not shy when asked about his favorite ride: the teacups.
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