The New York Mets have chewed into the Philadelphia Phillies’ advantage in the National League East and solidified their standing in the wild-card chase. And now, they’re sparing no resource in the organization as they chase down another playoff berth.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said the club is calling up elite pitching prospect Jonah Tong from Class AAA to start their Aug. 29 game against the Miami Marlins – giving a club that will spend more than $400 million on payroll two starting pitchers who made their major league debuts this month.
Tong, 22, joins Nolan McLean in the Mets rotation after the 24-year-old right-hander dazzled in his first two major league starts, giving New York a crucial dose of innings after its veteran pitchers have struggled with injury and getting to the finish line this season.
The Mets won the first two games of their series against the first-place Phillies, trimming their deficit in the East to five games, and they have a 3 ½-game advantage over the Cincinnati Reds for the final wild-card spot entering Wednesday.
Yet they will need all hands on deck to get to October.
Jonah Tong stats
Tong had a relatively meteoric rise in the Mets system after he was drafted out of a Canadian prep school in the seventh round in 2022. Yet nothing can top his ride this year: 162 strikeouts in 102 innings with a 1.76 ERA in 20 starts at Class AA Binghamton.
And while the Mets resisted the urge to rush him, they played their hand earlier this month when they promoted McLean to the majors – and pushed Tong from AA to Class AAA Syracuse.
On the same day McLean won his Citi Field debut, Tong had a similarly stout outing in his first appearance for Syracuse. And he did not give up a run in his 11-inning, two-start stint there, striking out 17 and walking three.
‘There’s no question this is fast,’ Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters. ‘He’s pushed us on this because of his performance.’
Come on up, kid.
Mets rotation: What’s the deal?
Their Aug. 26 game somewhat epitomized the group’s inconsistencies this season. Left-hander Sean Manaea could not get out of the fifth inning and left with a 2-0 deficit. Yet true to form, the Mets offense roared back with five runs of their own and eventually earned a 6-5 walk-off victory.
Manaea and fellow free agent signee Frankie Montas both began the year with extended injured list stints; Montas is now the long man in the bullpen. Meanwhile, converted reliever Clay Holmes dazzled in his first 16 starts, the Mets winning 11 of them as he averaged nearly six innings an outing with a 2.97 ERA.
Yet Holmes has had a tougher go of it since July, with a 4.74 ERA while averaging less than five innings a start, although he pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball his last time out. Suddenly, a club that will pay more than $400 million in payroll and luxury tax penalties was left short-handed.
With the trade market offering little in the way of starting pitching, the Mets opted to load up on bullpen arms. Now, they’re getting a big arms boost from within – with two starters asked to stick in the majors in the heat of a pennant race.