This Tylor Megill detail can force the NY Mets into an early offseason decision

Tylor Megill missed all of the 2026 season (no, he didn’t pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series) and is an option for the New York Mets in 2027. They tendered him a deal last offseason knowing he’d miss the year due to Tommy John surgery. The righty who leapt through the minor leagues in 2021 has had an up-and-down career that has tended to meet somewhere closer to the middle.

The lifetime 4.46 ERA improved over his last two seasons. In 2024 and 2025, he combined to essentially play one full MLB season. In it, we get 29 starts, a relief appearance, and a 9-10 record with a 4.00 ERA.

Megill has become even more of a strikeout pitcher, fanning batters at an 11.1 K/9 rate in those two years while seeing his walk rate rise a little but not to a level that became too scary. Just a 100 ERA+ in those two seasons, we can come away thinking of him as a league average pitcher, nothing more.

By paying him $2.5 million last year to rehab, the Mets may have already embarked on an important conversation they may eventually need to have with him. Megill went onto the IL with one minor league option remaining. It’s now void because his service time in 2027 will surpass 5 years. At 5 years, a player can reject a minor league assignment. He reached the mark last year while sitting on the IL.

Tylor Megill will need to consent in 2027 for any minor league assignment

The Mets wouldn’t DFA Megill (at least not yet) because of how promising he has looked at times. His brother’s continued success in relief should again spark the idea of moving their Megill into a bullpen role. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. The David Stearns-led Mets have put a high value on starting pitching depth and to remove that from his arsenal might do so for the full season.

Megill seems destined to go back on the IL once it opens up again so that the 40-man roster spot can be freed. The IL isn’t available for teams until spring training which means if the Mets want to carry him throughout the offseason, they’ll need to stash a spot for him. This is less problematic with the lockout looming as there could be months of no player movement. The trick comes into play when baseball begins again.

The Mets showed they have some desire to use Megill. You don’t pay a guy $2.5 million to sit on the sidelines with the only intention of cutting him loose. A handshake agreement is all they can get from him. Nothing, contractually, will guarantee Megill does accept a minor league assignment.

Megill’s readiness for the 2027 season is unknown as he didn’t even begin a rehab assignment in 2026. The same applies to Reed Garrett, however, he does have a minor league assignment available and as a reliever recovering from a major injury, the expectation would be for a smoother transition.

For Megill, some immediate outcomes. He’s probably not getting traded. Who would pick up a guy coming off of TJ surgery at any cost? The Mets could non-tender him and look to re-sign him on a minor league contract. This is more favorable for them than it is for him. It seems unlikely. He’ll want to gain as much service time as he can to become a free agent. He’s trending toward it after the 2027 season. Accepting a minor league assignment poses a threat to that as well. While he’d still be arbitration eligible in 2028 if he came up short on accruing enough service time to hit the open market, the goal for most players is to always have the choice.

Megill is obvious depth yet also not quite as needed as he was in the past. A long and arduous rehab assignment when he’s available to come back at just the right time when the Mets need a starter or bullpen arm is a safe bet. If things go well, great! If things go poorly, maybe he is more inclined to hang around in Syracuse. Nobody wants to go into free agency on a sour note.

The Mets and Megill need to be on the same page. A frank conversation about his role, and living up to it when the time comes, will be necessary. The Mets, meanwhile, need to properly assess if the $2.5 million they spent on him in 2026 will be worth around the same in 2027 with the knowledge it could quickly go to waste. The Mets paid Drew Smith $1 million in 2025 to sit out the year only to not pick up his $2 million option for 2026. At some point, you need to spot reinvesting in the same player.

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