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The Mets are concerned about one of their top starters.
Tylor Megill was placed on the 15-day injured list with right biceps inflammation, the club announced on Sunday. He will undergo an MRI on Monday, until which the organization will be holding its breath in hopes of good news on their rising pitcher. Right-hander Colin Holderman was called up from Triple-A Syracuse.
The injury news arrived after Megill’s worst start of the season, to date. The righty struggled against a bottom-tier Nationals lineup last Wednesday, getting tabbed for eight earned runs on eight hits in just 1.1 innings. Just five weeks prior, Megill overpowered the very same Nationals lineup, cruising through five scoreless innings on Opening Day.
Megill’s biceps inflammation could be the reason behind his unusual disappointing outing last week. But, depending on the severity of the injury, it could also spell trouble for the Mets rotation.
Megill carried a 2.43 ERA into his meltdown at Nationals Park. His early success this season arrived at just the right time, with the injured Jacob deGrom opening the year on the IL with a stress reaction on his right scapula. Megill’s 5-2 record over seven starts into 2022 helped the organization ease the pain of losing deGrom to begin the year.
But Megill means significantly more to this team than only serving as a deGrom replacement.
Megill has grown into a prominent member of the Mets rotation, one that helped contribute to the second no-hitter in franchise history late last month and goes by the nickname “Big Drip” within the clubhouse. Megill’s 25.7 strikeout percentage is third-best among Mets starters, living up there with Chris Bassitt (26.9%) and Max Scherzer (32.5%). His rise, following his 2021 rookie season, quickly gained a large following for the Flushing faithful.
Now, the Mets will look internally to fill yet another hole in the pitching staff.
As far as an immediate bandage, left-hander David Peterson is the obvious choice to jump into the rotation. But Megill was scheduled to start in the series opener against the Cardinals as soon as Monday, and Peterson just pitched for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, hurling six scoreless innings against Scranton, making him unavailable for Monday’s St. Louis outing.
That Peterson still pitched for Syracuse on Friday indicates the Mets were likely not concerned about Megill potentially dealing with an injury after his bad start against the Nationals. Had the club been previously concerned about Megill being unable to make his next start, the Buck Showalter Mets likely would’ve been proactive about their minor-league options. Much like James McCann’s left hamate fracture, which will require hand surgery, came out of nowhere, it appears Megill’s biceps inflammation was also unexpected.
Trevor Williams pitched after Megill’s early exit in Washington last Wednesday, so he is the likely candidate to start against the Cardinals on Monday. Williams, who held the Nationals to 3.2 scoreless innings last week, has a 5.73 ERA in five games and 11 innings this season. Williams’ last and only previous start for the Mets this year was on April 23 in Arizona, when he coughed up four earned runs on seven hits in two innings against the Diamondbacks.
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