Carlos Carrasco injury should have the Mets rethinking their Tylor Megill plan

Tylor Megill was going to return from the IL and slot into the New York Mets bullpen. Maybe not anymore. Carlos Carrasco is going to miss a few weeks and the team will need to rethink the plan with Megill.

In the interim, we can expect David Peterson to get the starts while Trevor Williams remains in his role as a long man and emergency starter. With a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies scheduled for Saturday, it’s likely we see them both in the rotation for at least a turn.

How each performs in their next start could have Buck Showalter and management thinking differently. However, when it comes to Megill, nothing should change. The plan is now completely altered and they should start stretching him out even if he does initially return in relief.

The Mets should look to get length from Tylor Megill if they can

The timing of the Carrasco injury isn’t great with how Megill is progressing. Having yet to pitch in a rehab assignment, we’d have to expect all possibilities from him.

Coming back as a relief pitcher might be easier for Megill as there’s no working his way up to tossing 80+ pitches. Just being prepared to go one or two is all he’d need to do. As comfortable as they may feel at making the playoffs, they can’t toy with him or anyone else. They need a plan.

Right now, the Mets might not need Megill in the bullpen. Maybe that changes. So, while they don’t need him, Megill should gear up to go a little longer. An advantage of having him in the bullpen should already be how much length he can offer. Why stop at having him only go an inning or two in his rehab?

The importance of having Tylor Megill as a Mets starting pitcher option

Having Megill as a starting pitcher option only to fall back into a relief role is far more beneficial than having him in a relief role with less time to prepare himself to start games. When Carrasco returned from the IL last season after missing several months, he gave the Mets very little. There’s no telling at his age how quickly he could be back or even how effective he’d be. And during the period they’ll be without him, nothing guarantees the other starters stay on the field anyway.

The Mets can survive without Carrasco with the number of options they have behind him. What to do with Megill can be a bit of a trick because you don’t want to get caught not having him for more than relief duties. He’ll have to be honest about how he’s feeling. It would sting to lose him entirely.

Slowly working his way back into a starter or at least able to pitch something close to what Williams has given the team in several of his starts should be the goal for Megill.

This is part of the late-season chess match of baseball. And unlike a simple in-game managerial situation, there are things nobody can control like obliques and shoulders.