PHOENIX — Tylor Megill is getting another shot to show he belongs in the big leagues this season.
The Mets are calling up the right-hander to start Friday night against the Chicago White Sox. Monday’s off day allowed the Mets to shuffle the rotation and use David Peterson against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday and insulate Megill by pitching him against the lowly White Sox.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said the Mets chose Megill because of “the way he’s been throwing the ball,” citing a recent 7 2/3-inning outing against Rochester.
“I said when we sent him down that he was going to be here, he was going to be a part of this team,” Mendoza said Wednesday at Chase Field. “Here he is. He’s getting another opportunity.”
Megill has had several opportunities in the major leagues, but he’s never been able to stick in a rotation throughout an entire season. After showing promise as a rookie in 2021, Megill struggled with elbow and shoulder injuries in 2022. A deep starting staff forced him to the bullpen for a few games late in the season.
Last year, the 6-7 righty lost his spot in the rotation on multiple occasions. He wasn’t efficient with his pitches, he walked 4.1 hitters per nine innings and gave up a lot of home runs and hard contact. Megill couldn’t maintain his velocity past the third or fourth inning and would become significantly less effective without it.
After posting a 2.76 ERA over five starts in the final month of the 2023 season, Megill and the Mets were both encouraged. He trained with his brother Trevor, a Milwaukee Brewers reliever, in the offseason at Push Performance in Arizona and added three pitches, giving him seven total to work with.
However, commanding all of them was where he struggled. Megill’s spork became a good swing-and-miss pitch, but he has long had issues with sequencing and execution.
“He’d be an ace if he commanded five pitches,” Mendoza said. “It would be nice, I think it’s just understanding one is he going to be using against lefties, which ones against righties, things like that in the situation of the game. But at the end of the day, he’s got to attack. He’s got to throw strikes, and he’s got to get weak outs in order for him to go deep in games.”
It’s been more of the same for Megill in 2024. A shoulder injury took him out of action early in the season. He made a few good starts when he returned, but it was more of the same: short, inefficient outings.
Still, the Mets are hoping he can finally put it all together. He still has another option year left so they’re unlikely to cut ties with him anytime soon and they seem to be resistant to putting him in the bullpen.
The Mets still see Megill’s future as a starter.
“There’s a lot to like stuff-wise when you look at a guy that throws as hard as he does and has got as many pitches as he does,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s just keeping it simple for him — staying on the attack, kind of simplifying the plan of attack against lefties and righties. And he’s done that at the Triple-A level. Some of the reports that we’re getting say that he’s attacking and staying on the attack, so that the reports are encouraging.”
The 29-year-old Megill is 2-5 with a 5.17 ERA in 10 major league appearances this season (nine starts), and 3-0 with a 3.15 ERA in eight starts with Triple-A Syracuse.
TRAINER’S ROOM
The Mets are still hopeful that right-hander Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) could make a return this season, but Mendoza acknowledged that they’re running out of time to get him built up to game shape. He was pulled off of his rehab assignment a few weeks ago to be able to strengthen his shoulder, but the Mets are still at a loss as to why the ball isn’t coming out of his hand right, especially since all imaging has come back clean.
Reid-Foley has not thrown in nearly two weeks.
“We’ve just got to get him stronger and make sure he feels good enough to go out there and play catch,” Mendoza said.
Right-hander Paul Blackburn (right hand contusion) played catch Tuesday in Phoenix. He’s expected to throw a bullpen Thursday, and then make a rehab start soon after. The Mets expect to activate him after his 15 days are up.