Reese Kaplan -- Moving the Pitching Pieces on Mets Chessboard

It is the last few days of August and the Mets seem like they will have some difficult roster decisions ahead of them.  The recent exits of Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn opened up some new possibilities and not a single person here is questioning the decision to promote Nolan McLean to the big club to fill one of those vacancies.  Next came the exit of Reed Garrett due to injury as well and here’s where the roster layout can become interesting.

Seemingly ready to return is veteran starter/reliever Tyler Megill who has been truly outstanding in his rehab assignments in particular when it comes to striking people out.  While I’ve never been a fan of the often inconsistent Megill on the mound, the fact is he has demonstrated over an up and down career that when he is at his best he can indeed be a formidable pitcher.  The gamble here, of course, is whether or not he’s turned a corner due to better health or if he will revert to his on-again/off-again professional pattern of behavior.

It is not just returning veterans that could pique the team’s curiosity.  Fellow veteran minor leaguer Brandon Sproat started off his 2025 season suggesting he’d perhaps hit the wall in terms of his development, but over an extended recent period of a few months he’s shown how effective he can be.  He’s already 24 years old so it’s not as if we are plucking a baby from the womb but his track record is a bit less robust as some of his competitors.  With the 60-day IL move for Montas it opens up a roster spot for Sproat should they decide to go in that direction.  They have shifted Sproat to the pen as a possible long man to call up.

Then there is the number one prospect in the Mets organization, Jonah Tong.  He recently turned in his first AAA start and he handled this upper level of competition with the ease he had in AA all year.  He is just 22 years old and in his pro career has just the one start at AAA.  His combined AA/AAA ERA for this season is an incredible 1.58 and he’s striking out nearly 15 batters per 9 innings pitched.  Still, the idea of having an arm of his capability during the final five weeks of the season has to have some folks in the front office drooling. (Apparently this evaluation matches what the organization believes as it has been announced Tong gets the nod to come join the team Friday against Miami).

The real question for the Mets is how best to manage the active roster given these options and the struggles some of the current major league Mets have had on the mound.  Garrett was already pitching on thin ice which apparently was health related so he is now out of the picture.  Ryne Stanek has been awful for most of the year and just as the club cut loose another veteran pitcher in Blackburn, could the same fate be happening to this reliever?

Bear in mind that the bullpen these days consists of the three July acquisitions, Edwin Diaz, Brooks Raley and a few pieces of recent promotion.  Jose Castillo is already 29 years old with a career ERA in the majors of 4.50 but he is capable of striking people out.  Huascar Brazoban has been more down than up since coming to the Mets from the Marlins but his career numbers are a bit better at 3.80 but he walks a lot of people.  It is possible to see one or more of these two pitchers demoted to make room for potential improvement if they don’t want to DFA Stanek.

How you arrange the starting rotation is also a big question.  Many advocate moving Clay Holmes back into the bullpen where he has built his career successfully and opening up a starting slot for Tyler Megill or one of the Syracuse pitchers.  This change would, of course, require the departure of one of the three relievers in question.  If the team wants to bring up Sproat for long relief then a second one would likely have to go.  For now, however, we need to figure out how to squeeze Tong into the problematic rotation.