Potential NY Mets pitching matchup upon Citi Field return is mouthwatering

It could be Nolan McLean vs. the guy we want him to be.
New York Mets v Detroit Tigers
New York Mets v Detroit Tigers | Duane Burleson/GettyImages

The New York Mets are undecided about what they’ll do with several aspects of their rotation in the coming weeks. Committed to a six-man rotation temporarily, the health of some and performance of others will lead to several TBAs, a few TBDs, and maybe even a couple of new initialisms.

WFAN host and Mets superfan Evan Roberts is never one to shy away from looking at upcoming pitching matchups. As much as the starting pitcher has become the B-story in many games, there are certain instances where it’s too tempting to not start foaming at the mouth.

Roberts did the math on his fingers and sees what could be a potentially epic one-vs-one next Friday when the Mets return to Citi Field after a long road trip.

Nolan McLean vs. Jacob deGrom is must see, if it happens

Could we have any better way to start off the final homestand of the 2025 regular season? The fast-rising Nolan McLean against the generation’s best starting pitcher in Mets history. It’s a changing of the guard type of situation if we ever saw one. We’re in our third post-deGrom season and yet it doesn’t even feel all that distant.

As always, it’s subject to change. Roster Resource has McLean pitching on Sunday with Tylor Megill inserted in there for a start on Thursday. This puts David Peterson in line to start on Friday versus deGrom.

McLean vs. deGrom is the matchup we’d want to see. More importantly, fans will want to see deGrom against anyone. Enough time has passed where even those who felt snubbed by deGrom would give him the ovation he deserves. Good yet not elite this season, he’s 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA this season. He’s at 9.6 K/9 which would be his lowest since 2016. It appears our former ace has evolved somewhat. Already over 150 innings logged this year, the trade off might be what keeps him in the league.

Before we get to the Texas series, our feelings about the Mets can swing in major ways. They have a chance to bury the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend over in Ohio. Then comes the Philadelphia Phillies where they can do the same to us in the NL East or maybe provide one last glimmer of hope. Texas will be playing for more than pride, too. They go into Wednesday 1.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the final Wild Card spot.