PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — For Tylor Megill, this is routine by now.
He enters spring training on the outside of the Opening Day roster projections, part of the next five instead of the starting five. And then, of course, a very talented somebody gets hurt. Suddenly, there is a spot in the rotation to be won.
It happened in 2022, when Megill wound up starting the first game of the year in place of Jacob deGrom. It happened in 2023, too, when Megill subbed in for Justin Verlander, who got hurt on the eve of the season. And it happened again this week, with Kodai Senga sidelined with a strained right shoulder.
Feel familiar?
“Very,” he said.
Megill isn’t guaranteed that rotation job. But he has as good a chance as anyone — maybe better. Here is a breakdown of the Mets’ options for this and any future openings.
RHP Tylor Megill
2023 stats: 25 starts, 4.70 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings
Key fact: In the second half, he walked 7.9% of his batters faced. Before that, it was 11.9%.
More than any of the other names here, Megill has gotten chances. The Mets want it to work. His velocity can reach the upper 90s — through his fastball has been in the range of 94-96 mph lately — and his slider is vicious.
He has a new splitter, too, that he learned with Senga’s help near the end of 2023.
“It’s definitely part of the arsenal,” Megill said. “It’s good. Thanks, Kodai . . . Kodai going out there every five, six days and hitters know it’s coming and still getting the results on it even though they know it’s coming — why not try to figure out how to throw that?”
After parts of three seasons in the majors — 58 games overall — Megill has a 4.72 ERA. He and the Mets are still chasing that April 2022 high, when he dominated for five outings.
His goal is to not be in…
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