Jonah Tong is in the role the NY Mets probably always wanted him to have

Often, to understand the present, one need only look to the past. That may be the key to comprehending what the New York Mets’ plan is with rookie pitcher Jonah Tong.

Tong, 22, opened the 2026 season as New York’s No. 3 prospect – behind fellow RHP Nolan McLean and OF Carson Benge – and the No. 48 prospect in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline. Unlike the two Mets prospects ahead of him, the young right-hander did not start this season with the major league club, even after starting five games for the Mets last year.

Instead, Tong began the 2026 season with Triple-A Syracuse, where he had pitched in only two games a year prior before his quick promotion to the big leagues. He remained with Syracuse for all of April and most of May, making nine starts before getting called back up to the major league roster on May 22. So far in 2026, the Mets haven’t had Tong make a start in the big leagues.

How have the Mets been using Jonah Tong?

Over the last week, Tong has appeared in two games as a bulk reliever, pitching 6.2 innings across those outings. Those two relief appearances already match his season-high total for non-start outings across his five seasons of professional baseball.

The Mets appear content to slow-play Tong’s return to a significant role in the major league pitching staff. President of Baseball Operations (POBO) David Stearns had the rookie begin the season in the minors and only called him back up after injuries and underperformance among other starters.

So far, Stearns and the Mets have shied away from pushing Tong back into the rotation after he allowed 20 runs (16 earned) in five starts last year. Instead, the Mets have tweaked their strategy in 2026, “protecting” Tong from facing the top of opponents’ lineups multiple times by having him pitch behind an opener, or openers.

On May 22 in Miami, Tong made his 2026 debut behind five combined innings from Tobias Myers and Manaea, pitching three innings to finish the game. Five days later, he pitched 3.2 more innings against the Reds at home after reliever Huascar Brazobán opened for one inning.

There is precedent for the Mets’ Jonah Tong plan

Before Stearns was in New York and Tong was a top pitching prospect in baseball, Stearns, the then-Brewers general manager (and eventual POBO), was figuring out how to navigate similar situations with other top pitching prospects.

In August 2017, a 24-year-old right-hander named Brandon Woodruff made his major league debut. Across his eight starts in his first season, Woodruff allowed 23 earned runs in 43 innings – good for a 4.81 ERA. The following season, he appeared in 19 games, only made four starts and trimmed his ERA down to 3.61. One year after that, Woodruff became a full-time starter and was named to his first All-Star team.

In 2018, as Woodruff was navigating a bullpen role a year after his MLB debut, two more young Brewers arms debuted: Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes. Peralta started in each of his first 14 appearances to the tune of a 4.40 ERA entering September, and came out of the bullpen in his final two games in 2018. Burnes, in contrast, pitched exclusively out of the bullpen that year.

The next year, both Peralta and Burnes were almost exclusively bullpen arms. The former made eight starts in 39 appearances, and the latter started four out of 32 games. By 2021, after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, both pitchers were full members of the rotation. Both Peralta and Burnes made their first All-Star team that year, and Burnes won the National League Cy Young.

So far, it appears as though Stearns is taking the same, slower approach to working Tong up to speed in the majors. The young Mets prospect has a high ceiling, and Stearns has a track record of deploying young arms in creative ways before having them crack the rotation full-time and finding success.

Jonah Tong’s new role is working so far

The results have been solid for Tong in his tweaked role through two outings. After pitching to a 5.68 ERA through his nine starts with Syracuse, the 22-year-old has yet to allow an earned run in his second major league stint. That isn’t to say everything has gone exceptionally smoothly through Tong’s first two 2026 appearances.

In a small sample size, Tong is striking out far fewer batters at the major league level than he was in the minor leagues. In 6.2 innings with the Mets, the rookie has three strikeouts – good for a rate of 4.1 strikeouts per nine innings. That’s a clear drop-off from his early output in Syracuse this year – 55 strikeouts in 38 innings, or a rate of 13 strikeouts per nine innings.

Tong is also still struggling with allowing free passes, something that was troubling him in Triple-A. He’s walked five batters in two outings this season after walking 24 in his time at Syracuse to start 2026.

The rookie right-hander is still making tweaks to figure out his pitch arsenal as he continues his second major league stint. In addition to adding a cutter to his repertoire this year, Tong dropped his arm angle a bit and took some vertical break off of his curveball. By keeping Tong out of the rotation, the Mets are allowing the 22-year-old to refine his craft at the major-league level in lower-leverage situations – i.e., against more batters in the bottom half of the order.

Barring further unforeseen injuries to the Mets’ current rotation, that usage plan for Tong likely won’t change. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza indicated as such after the rookie’s Wednesday appearance against the Reds.

"We're going to need him," Mendoza said. "We'll continue to get creative – whether it's using him as the opener, (or) as a bulk guy. … There's a lot of different ways we can go."

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