Tylor Megill ready for Mets return after shaky spring training
It feels like forever ago that Tylor Megill started Opening Day for the Mets last season, and now the team is looking toward the 27-year-old to fill-in for the reigning Cy Young winner.
When the Mets placed Justin Verlander on the IL to start the season, they called up Megill from Triple-A. It’s similar to last year when the Mets’ co-aces Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer began the year on the injured list, and Megill was there to pick up the slack.
Now, he’s asked to do it again.
“Got the call and I’m ready to go,” Megill told reporters prior to Friday’s game. “It’s unfortunate what happened. Hopefully it’s not long for Justin so I’ll come out here, do my thing and help the guys out.”
Megill started 2022 going 4-0 in his first five starts and was en route to having a breakout year before injuries derailed him. The acquisitions of Verlander, Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana in the offseason had Megill on the outside looking in for a spot on the roster. But when Quintana went down with an injury, he and David Peterson had a competition to grab that final spot in the rotation.
Unfortunately for Megill, he lost out and was set to begin the year in the minors.
In five games (three starts) in spring training, Megill gave up seven runs and walked 13 batters in 17 innings.
“In [Megill’s] situation, he was trying to do some things to make the club,” manager Buck Showalter said. “In some ways, when you put guys in the ‘come to the rescue’ mode, it’s not the same feeling of ‘I made the club.’ It’s harder to stay here than to get here. He’s very mature about it, him and Pete both.
“They understand what we’re trying to do and where they are and what they need to do for us to be successful.”
Showalter said that when he saw Megill at the stadium Friday he told him he knew he’d be back. Now that Megill is back on the team it’s up to the California native to fix the command issues he had in the spring.
Megill explained his changed mindset and what he’s done to rectify his issues saying, “Just throw strikes. Pitch to contact and just be on the attack. Little mechanical tweaks. Driving towards the plate and not steering off left.”
Prior to leaving for Syracuse, Megill had his last bullpen session in Florida where he began hashing some of those tweaks out.
“He approaches it a little differently from Max or Justin did and rightfully so,” Showalter said of Megill’s spring. “He’s working on some things, but when the game starts you get out of sync command wise, which is not him. He had a really good first couple of outings but some of the command got away from him in the end.”
Megill will pitch the Mets’ third game of their season-opening series against the Miami Marlins and likely the team’s home opener next week. He admits there’s a lot of emotions with him not making the team out of camp and now returning in this role, but is ready to show what he’s got.
And when he was asked what he expects his role on the team to be this season, Megill answered light-heartedly.
“Guess we’ll find out tomorrow what happens there. Just go out there and compete.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
