Mets give Tylor Megill spot in rotation to start season in place of injured Kodai Senga
Tylor Megill has a 3.45 ERA in five Grapefruit League appearances, striking out 16 and walking four in 15 2/3 innings for the Mets, who said he made the team. Credit: AP/Jeff Roberson
JUPITER, Fla. — Tylor Megill, the favorite all along, officially is Kodai Senga’s replacement in the Mets’ rotation.
Club officials informed Megill on Wednesday that he made the team, manager Carlos Mendoza said, making final what had been likely since Senga went down with a strained right shoulder a month ago.
“Credit to him for the way he approached his offseason and how he prepared,” Mendoza said. “He was working on new pitches and all that, but he came ready to go.”
Jose Butto, another righthander, will open the season with Triple-A Syracuse despite a strong showing in spring training.
In reality, Butto stood little chance of breaking camp with the Mets barring another injury or a total meltdown by Megill. As a consolation prize, he positioned himself as next on the starting pitcher depth chart, the top option when they inevitably need a sixth starter — including, say, during a 13-day stretch without an off day beginning April 5.
The Mets expect Butto to contribute to the team. But Megill will get the first shot.
“He basically did everything that we asked him to do,” Mendoza said of Butto. “We are counting on him. We know he’s going to pitch a lot for us. It’s important for him to go down there and continue his buildup as a starting pitcher.”
Megill has a 3.45 ERA in five Grapefruit League appearances, striking out 16 batters and walking four in 15 2/3 innings. Butto had a 0.90 ERA (one run in 10 innings), with nine strikeouts and two walks.
The Mets said from the start, though, that spring training statistics would not heavily influence their roster decision. As strong as Butto was in a rotation cameo last September, Megill has more experience.
“This is a guy who’s done it,” Mendoza said. “He’s got a little more experience than Butto. We decided to go that route.”
Senga, meanwhile, hasn’t so much as thrown a baseball in the four weeks since the Mets shut him down after he reported an issue with his shoulder. He is due to get another MRI within the next several days. In an absolute best-case scenario, he is slated to miss the first month of the season.
Great Scott
Christian Scott struck out seven and walked none across four innings in a 6-3 exhibition win over Miami. He gave up two hits and one run (on Jonah Bride’s homer) and looked sharp in mixing in all four of his pitches: fastball, sweeper, split-changeup, slider.
That represented a happy homecoming for Scott, who grew up in nearby Coconut Creek and — by his own admission — used to be a screaming, autographing-seeking child in the bleachers at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, the spring-training home of the Marlins and Cardinals.
He had 30 relatives and friends in the stands for his first Grapefruit League start.
“This was kind of a full-circle moment for me,” said Scott, the Mets’ top pitching prospect. “I grew up around this area, so I used to come to a lot of these games as a kid. I used to always envision myself out there. So it’s nice to be able to go out there and compete, throw my stuff for strikes and . . . compete to the best of my ability.”
Mendoza said: “You hear a lot about this kid, but watching him go about it today and the way he threw the baseball, it was special, it was exciting. Obviously, he’s got the slider, he’s got the sweeper. But for me it was about the fastball and the way he attacked hitters.”
Extra bases
Edwin Diaz said he wanted to stay in when Mendoza pulled him after 21 pitches and four batters (two walks, two outs). But when the manager reminded him he was scheduled to pitch the next day, too, Diaz obliged. His appearance Thursday in a minor-league game will mark his first time pitching on consecutive days since 2022 . . . Joey Wendle played third base for the first time in camp . . . Prospect Dom Hamel will start Thursday against the Tigers.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
