The Mets rotation reinforcements are on the way, just not immediately for a group that could use immediate help.
Sean Manaea is expected to pitch in his final rehab game Tuesday, which would line him up to make his season debut July 13 at Kansas City, the final day before the All-Star break.
Kodai Senga will begin and possibly end a rehab assignment with Double-A Binghamton on Saturday or Sunday, and he might be in play for us before the break, too, manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday.
Within the next week and a half, the Mets might be adding their two pitchers with arguably the highest ceilings.
Until then, though?
Paul Blackburn delivers a pitch during the first inning of the Mets loss to the Pirates at PNC Park. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Every option is on the table, and we are discussing all of them, president of baseball operations David Stearns said. Whether thats more days like [Wednesday] with an opener & whether thats straight bullpen days, whether we call up additional starters from the minor leagues, whether we seek external help.
Were going to evaluate everything. Well get through it.
David Stearns said the Mets will get through this recent pitching mess. Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTThere is plenty to navigate within a rotation that has been downgraded from hurting to ailing, losing one more member before finishing up a series finale with the Brewers at Citi Field.
Paul Blackburn was moved to the injured list with a right shoulder impingement whose severity Mendoza called relatively good news. Blackburn will be shut down for three to five days and then is expected to build back up again.
The righty has not been effective in six games, though his heart could not be questioned after he attempted to bridge a 1-hour, 29-minute rain delay in Pittsburgh on Saturday and, for his troubles, was knocked around and suffered an injury that Mendoza said he believes has something to do with the days difficult workload.
So the Mets are left with an entire rotation Senga (hamstring), Manaea (oblique, loose elbow bodies), Blackburn (shoulder), Griffin Canning (Achilles) and Tylor Megill (elbow) shelved. The only surefire starters remaining are David Peterson (who pitched Thursday), Clay Holmes (Wednesday) and Frankie Montas (Sunday).
The Mets strong leaning for the upcoming Yankees series is Thursday call-up Justin Hagenman going Friday, Montas on Saturday and Brandon Waddell (who threw 50 pitches over three relief innings Wednesday) pitching Sunday.
Such a plan would not be the most exciting for fans who have been clamoring to see three high-end minor league arms in Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong.
Justin Hagenman throws a pitch in the sixth inning of the Mets loss to the Braves at Truist Park on June 19, 2025. Getty ImagesMy preference is to not bring up a top prospect for a spot start, Stearns said during his homestand availability. I also understand this is a unique circumstance, and I cannot take anything off the table right now. But my preference would be to figure out a way to do it without [calling one up].
Tong (a 1.73 ERA in 14 starts) has been the most impressive, but his work has come with Double-A Binghamton, so he is a bit further away. McLean was dominant with Binghamton and has been excellent with Syracuse, entering play with a 2.72 ERA in nine games, but he started Thursday and, thus, would not be an option this weekend.
Sproat, who entered this season as the top-ranked Mets pitcher, is lined up to pitch Saturday or Sunday. But the righty has struggled for the first time in his minor league career, sporting a 5.43 ERA in his first 16 starts with Syracuse.
Jonah Tong throws a pitch during a spring training game against the Nationals on March 16, 2025. Diamond Images/Getty ImagesSaturday, the hard-throwing 24-year-old struck out six in six shutout, two-hit innings.
I think we saw, as much as anything, a little bit of a mindset shift where he just got into attack mode and wasnt trying to be perfect with every single pitch, Stearns said of Sproat. Just realized his stuff was really good. & We are looking forward to him continuing to bring that mentality to starts going forward.
Translation: The Mets want to see more before a promotion.
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Without yet dipping into their top prospect pool, the Mets hope they can withstand the injuries.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Mets will have to look at a rotation that at least right now is both ailing and struggling and determine whether upgrades are needed.
When you go through a stretch like weve had, both in terms of injuries and performance, Stearns said, we have to take a look at our pitching staff as a whole, do our best to understand why this is happening and certainly see if there are ways we can get better both internally and externally.
