Tylor Megill made upcoming NY Mets roster decisions easier

New York Mets v New York Yankees

The New York Mets began the 2025 Subway Series at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees amid high expectations surrounding Juan Soto’s return to the Bronx. However, in a more hidden context, an important story for the Mets organization began on the mound in that game, centered on Tylor Megill.

Megill, who started the season with an above-expected performance, has had three inefficient starts and poor results, which puts his spot in the rotation and possibly on the MLB roster in jeopardy for good. His spot could be used by one of the pitchers currently undergoing rehab assignments, with one pitcher in particular benefiting the most from Megill’s poor performance.

Did Tylor Megill just pitch himself off the Mets roster?

It should be noted that Megill started the year with excellent performance on the mound, posting a 1.74 ERA, a 30% strikeout rate, and holding batters to a .198 batting average. However, from this point on, Megill has been showing poor performance and stuff in his pitches, with his last outing against the Yankees being a thorn in his side for Megill’s hopes of remaining in the Mets’ rotation after allowing four earned runs and issuing five walks in just 2.2 innings pitched, raising his overall ERA to 3.74.

Megill is at a concerning level. From April to date, batters are hitting .282 with a .462 slugging percentage, while his home run-to-fly ball ratio went from an elite level of just 3.8% in March to over 20% between April and this year. Added to this, his ground ball induction ratio decreased by almost 13 percentage points, thus being affected by fly balls. Hence, Megill’s ERA since April 1st stands at 7.45.

Megill has another negative aspect that could even jeopardize his permanence on the MLB roster. He still has an active minor league option, allowing the Mets to send him to AAA without having to clear waivers and eventually lose him. This means that pitchers like Paul Blackburn, who are currently in rehab, almost certainly have a spot in the team’s rotation.

Blackburn also pitched his penultimate outing of rehab, allowing three earned runs but just one hit with seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings. While his outing wasn’t perfect, the fact that Megill pitched so poorly in his last outing and his minor league option make Blackburn the logical candidate to replace him in the rotation until Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas can fully recover from their respective injuries. Likewise, the Mets can play early and quickly send Megill down to the minors, giving them the spot to bring up relievers until they need a starter in Megill’s spot.

Megill’s recent struggles have presented the Mets with a clear and perhaps unavoidable decision. With Blackburn nearing full health and possessing a track record of MLB success, coupled with Megill’s minor league option providing roster flexibility, the writing appears to be on the wall. While Megill showed flashes of brilliance early in the season, his inability to maintain that level of performance has opened the door for a change, one that could ultimately benefit the Mets’ pitching staff in the long run.