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Tylor Megill

Mets Notes: deGrom, Megill, McNeil

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The Mets have been without Jacob deGrom all season, although the club has maintained he’s progressing well in his recovery from a Spring Training stress reaction in his scapula. deGrom has been throwing off flat ground for a couple weeks, and Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News tweeted yesterday that he’s lengthened out to throwing from 95-100 feet.

More encouragingly, Thosar suggests the star right-hander could progress to throwing a bullpen session by this weekend. That’d mark a notable step in his recovery, although he’ll presumably need multiple mound sessions before he progresses to facing live hitters. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com wrote last week that deGrom is also expected to require three-to-five rehab starts in the minor leagues before returning to the majors.

There are still significant hurdles before deGrom will be back in a game at Citi Field, but he continues to make incremental strides. Jon Heyman of the New York Post said on yesterday’s The Show podcast with colleague Joel Sherman that he’d heard a “late June” potential timetable for deGrom’s return to the big leagues from a team source (Mets’ talk around 34:00 mark). Even if his rehab lingers a bit beyond then, the organization is surely hopeful the two-time Cy Young winner will be healthy for the second half of the season.

The Mets are also down Max Scherzer and Tylor Megill, leaving them to rely on their rotation depth. Scherzer isn’t likely to be back before the All-Star Break, while Megill has been out since May 15 because of biceps inflammation. Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner suggested Megill’s further along in his recovery than deGrom (Thosar link), but he’s not yet thrown a bullpen session and certainly won’t be ready to return when first eligible on Friday.

While the rotation has taken some key hits, the position player group has been healthy aside from catcher James McCann (out through late June because of a hand fracture). Second baseman/left fielder Jeff McNeil is now day-to-day after crashing into the wall chasing a fly ball this afternoon. Mike Puma of the Post was among those to relay (on Twitter) that he’s been diagnosed with a left knee contusion.

The subject of some trade speculation over the winter, the lefty-hitting McNeil is rewarding the organization’s decision to keep him in Flushing. Across 170 plate appearances, he’s hitting .323/.376/.458 with a minuscule 10% strikeout rate. McNeil only has two home runs, but he’s among the top 25 qualified hitters in both batting average and on-base percentage.

Mets Sign Trevor Cahill To Minor League Contract

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The Mets recently agreed to a minor league deal with veteran starter Trevor Cahill, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported. According to the righty’s transactions tracker at MLB.com, he has been assigned to the team’s Florida complex.

Cahill will presumably head to Triple-A Syracuse at some point, but Sherman notes that he’ll first need time to build into game shape. That’s no surprise, as he hasn’t pitched since last June. A member of the Pirates at the time, Cahill landed on the injured list with a left calf strain. He was quickly transferred to the 60-day IL and didn’t return, quietly hitting free agency at the end of the year.

Before the injury, Cahill made nine appearances (including eight starts) for the Bucs. He managed just a 6.57 ERA over 37 innings, striking out a below-average 19.3% of opposing hitters. The sinkerballer induced grounders at a typically robust 55.2% clip, though, and he’s been excellent at keeping the ball in the yard throughout his career.

Cahill doesn’t throw hard or miss many bats, and his results have been inconsistent in recent years. Yet the 12-year big league veteran has continued to earn opportunities as a depth arm, having reached the majors each season since 2009. After an early run as a rotation stalwart with the A’s and Diamondbacks, Cahill has suited up for eight different clubs over the past seven seasons.

He’s a perfectly sensible veteran depth option for the Mets, who have taken some hits to their star-studded rotation. Jacob deGrom has still yet to pitch recovering from the stress reaction that arose in his throwing shoulder late in Spring Training. He is throwing but not yet ready for a minor league rehab assignment, and a specific timeline is still unclear. (Jon Heyman of the Post noted yesterday that he’s not likely to be available until some point in July). Making matters worse, New York just lost co-ace Max Scherzer for six-to-eight weeks because of an oblique strain.

Tylor Megill is also on the injured list because of biceps inflammation, although the prognosis seems more promising there. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweeted last night that Megill is tentatively expected to play catch today, his first time throwing since hitting the IL a week ago. If all goes according to plan, it doesn’t seem the 26-year-old is in for too long an absence.

For the moment, New York is set to rely on a primary starting five of Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, David Peterson and Trevor Williams. That’s a solid group — particularly for a team down three of its top arms — but New York has already had to call on their depth options and the minor league ranks have thinned out. Further rotation injuries could put the organization in a precarious spot, so they’ll add Cahill as an insurance option.

Mets Place Tylor Megill On Injured List, Select Colin Holderman

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, with righty Tylor Megill going on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 12, due to right biceps inflammation. Fellow righty Colin Holderman has been selected to take his place on the active roster. To make room for Holderman on the 40-man roster, righty Trevor May has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

The Mets didn’t provide a timeline for Megill’s injury but did say that he will undergo an MRI today. More details and the next steps should be forthcoming once the results are known.

Megill, 26, wasn’t originally projected to open the season in the rotation, but injuries to Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker created an opening for him. Initially, Megill took that opportunity and ran with it, making two scoreless starts to begin the season and putting up an ERA of 1.93 after five total outings. However, his last two outings haven’t been as smooth, with Megill allowing 11 total earned runs in those. It’s possible that this injury was taking its toll on him and affecting his performance.

The Mets will need another starter to take Megill’s spot in the rotation, as today is their sixth of 16 consecutive games. David Peterson would seem to be the most likely candidate to be called up, given that he’s already made three starts for the club earlier this year and performed well. But in the short term, he pitched in Triple-A on Friday and wouldn’t be available to pitch on normal rest until Wednesday. Megill’s was scheduled to start tomorrow’s game, meaning the Mets will have to figure out who’s taking the ball for that contest.

In the meantime, Holderman will join the staff to try to cover some innings. A ninth round draft pick from 2016, he’s done both starting and relieving in his minor league career, though he’s only been working out of the bullpen this year. In nine Triple-A games, he’s thrown 12 1/3 innings with a 2.92 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 61.3% ground ball rate. As soon as he gets the call to enter a game, it will be his major league debut.

The transfer of May to the 60-day injured list isn’t shocking, as it was reported a couple of weeks ago that he will be out of action for 8-12 weeks due to a stress reaction in the humerus of his throwing arm.

Mets Activate Robert Gsellman, Designate Brandon Drury

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The Mets have activated right-hander Robert Gsellman from the 60-day injured list.  In corresponding moves, utilityman Brandon Drury has been designated for assignment, while right-hander Tylor Megill has been optioned to Triple-A.

Gsellman will get a couple more chances to get on the mound during what been an another injury-plagued year for the swingman.  A right lat strain sent Gsellman to the IL back on June 21, thus limiting him to only 26 2/3 innings in 2021.  Since injuries also greatly limited Gsellman in 2020, he has pitched a total of 40 2/3 innings over the last two seasons.

All this missed time has had an adverse effect on Gsellman’s earnings, considering that 2020 and 2021 were both arbitration-eligible years.  Gsellman will be arb-eligible for a third and final time this winter, but won’t get much beyond his $1.3MM 2021 salary.  On the plus side, this low price tag could make the Mets inclined to bring him back rather than non-tendering him.

Drury signed a minor league deal with New York last winter and ended up earning $1.55MM in guaranteed salary once the Mets selected his contract.  In 88 plate appearances at the big league level, Drury provide above-average (112 OPS+, 114 wRC+) offense, hitting .274/.307/.476 with four homers.  Much of that production, however, was packed into a seven-game hit streak in late July.  It seems likely that the seven-year MLB veteran will have to settle for another minors contract this offseason in order to catch on with another team.

Jacob deGrom Won’t Resume Throwing For At Least Two More Weeks

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Jacob deGrom hasn’t thrown since a July 30 setback in his recovery from elbow inflammation prompted a two-week shutdown. With that initial shutdown having passed, there’d been some hope deGrom could restart his throwing program in the coming days. That, however, won’t be the case.

Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News) that deGrom’s shutdown will last at least another two weeks. Rojas stressed that deGrom isn’t dealing with structural damage and that the inflammation is improving. That said, it’s apparently not progressing quickly enough for him to begin throwing again before late August, at the earliest.

Hope remains that deGrom will be able to return to the majors at some point this year. That window of opportunity’s dwindling, though, with just seven weeks remaining in the regular season. In a best case scenario, deGrom begins a throwing program two weeks from now. He’ll need some time to build up arm strength before he can embark upon a minor league rehab assignment.

The Mets could expedite that rehab process by building deGrom up to work in shorter stints, just as they’re leaning towards brining Noah Syndergaard back as a relief weapon. In such a scenario, deGrom could still serve as a starting pitcher, but scheduling constraints make it unlikely New York will have the luxury of building deGrom up to work 100+ pitches with regularity for the stretch run.

Needless to say, losing the best pitcher in baseball has dealt a tough blow to the Mets. deGrom looked to be coasting to his third career Cy Young Award (and potentially the NL MVP award) early in the season. Over fifteen starts, the 33-year-old tossed 92 innings of 1.08 ERA/1.74 SIERA ball.

Despite a series of injuries to key position players, the Mets remained in first place in the NL East for much of the early summer — thanks largely to deGrom’s absurd level of dominance. A bout of forearm tightness sent him to the injured list on July 18, though. The accompanying elbow inflammation is now set to cost him at least a significant chunk of the season’s second half.

The Mets have fallen on hard times in recent weeks. New York has gone 11-13 since placing deGrom on the IL, with the rotation posting a disappointing 5.71 ERA/4.74 SIERA over that time. The skid — coupled with the Phillies’ recent hot streak — has put the Mets a half game back of Philadelphia and a half game up on the Braves in a tightly-contested division race.

Obviously, there’s still plenty of opportunity for the Mets to take ahold of the division. They’ll have to go at least a majority of the stretch run without their ace, though, leaving New York relying on a starting staff including Marcus Stroman, Carlos Carrasco, Tylor Megill, Taijuan Walker, Rich Hill and Trevor Williams.

That’s still a talented group, but there’s also a fair bit of uncertainty. Stroman has been excellent all year, and the unheralded Megill has stepped up with 45 innings of 3.20 ERA/3.80 SIERA ball over his first nine big league starts. (Tim Britton of the Athletic explored Megill’s rapid rise in the organization this morning in a piece that should be of interest to Mets fans). The veteran group at the back of the rotation comes with plenty of question marks, though.

Carrasco has only made three starts this year because of a hamstring tear. He’s a highly accomplished pitcher at his best, but it remains to be seen if the 34-year-old will be able to pitch at his peak level down the stretch. Walker began the year well but he’s been hit hard over his past five starts. Hill has pitched well overall but seen his swinging strike rate plummet recently, and Williams struggled with the Cubs and has only made a single MLB appearance for the Mets to date.

Marcus Stroman Optimistic He Can Make His Next Start

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June 23, 3:08 pm: Stroman is still dealing with soreness in his hip, but he’s hopeful he’ll be able to make his next start, manager Luis Rojas tells reporters (including Thosar).

June 23, 11:15 am: Stroman underwent an MRI today, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that the imaging came back clean. There’s no structural damage for Stroman, which should rule out a lengthy absence. Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News tweets that Stroman is day-to-day.

June 22: Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman left this evening’s start against the Braves in the second inning after a visit from the trainer. The club later announced he’s dealing with left hip soreness. Yennsy Díaz came on in relief to replace him.

There’s no indication at this point that his departure was anything more than precautionary, but it’s nevertheless a concerning development. Given the current state of their rotation, the Mets can scarcely afford a lengthy absence from Stroman. Jacob deGrom has been otherworldly, and Taijuan Walker has been very good in his own right. Even before Stroman’s departure, though, there was plenty of uncertainty at the back of the rotation. David Peterson has struggled to a 5.31 ERA, and the final spot is already a question mark. Joey Lucchesi will undergo Tommy John surgery this week, with veteran Jerad Eickhoff and prospect Thomas Szapucki among the potential replacements. Tylor Megill, who has performed well over three starts at Triple-A Syracuse, is among the players under consideration for a promotion, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link).

At 37-30, the Mets are leading the National League East by four games. The front office looks likely to be on the hunt for starting pitching in the coming weeks, and that urgency will only be heightened if Stroman requires an IL stint. It’s also a critical year for Stroman, who is scheduled to hit free agency at season’s end after accepting an $18.9MM qualifying offer last winter. To this point, his decision to bet on himself has looked wise, as Stroman has tossed 85 2/3 innings of 2.31 ERA/3.55 FIP ball.

Mets To Select Tylor Megill

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The Mets are planning to select the contract of right-hander Tylor Megill, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to pass along. He’ll start tomorrow evening’s game against the Braves.

New York’s eighth-round pick in 2018 out of the University of Arizona, Megill entered 2021 in the back half of the Mets top thirty prospects, in the estimation of both Baseball America and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs. He can run his fastball into the mid-high 90s, per evaluators, with generally average secondary stuff. Both BA and FanGraphs suggest Megill’s more likely to settle in as a reliever long-term, but he’ll break into the majors as a starter.

Over parts of three minor league seasons, Megill has worked to a solid 3.41 ERA with a stellar 32.1% strikeout rate and an average 8.8% walk percentage. The 25-year-old has been fantastic in the high minors this year. Between Double-A Binghamton (26 innings) and Triple-A Syracuse (14 1/3 frames), he’s worked to a 3.35 ERA with a whopping 36% strikeout rate and a better than average 7.3% walk rate. That performance has earned him his first big league call.

Megill isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the Mets will need to make a corresponding move to formally select his contract. That can be done by transferring lefty Joey Lucchesi to the 60-day injured list. Lucchesi will undergo Tommy John surgery on Thursday.

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