A much-needed pitching shakeup is finally coming for the Mets.
The biggest pitching-related news to come out of Queens on Wednesday: Right-hander Nolan McLean will be called up Saturday to make his big league debut against the Seattle Mariners.
Less important, but potentially impactful pitching news: Right-hander Paul Blackburn was activated off the injured list Wednesday, ahead of schedule.
McLean, a 24-year-old prospect ranked third overall in the Mets’ system, is expected to take the place of Frankie Montas in the rotation. Without any starting pitchers available for the right price at the trade deadline, McLean and Brandon Sproat became the fallback plan. Still, the Mets were banking on Montas, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga to improve after the deadline passed.
It hasn’t happened yet. The hope was that Montas would improve as the bulk guy behind an opener, but when he had to use 72 pitches in only three innings, it became clear the experiment was for one game only. The Mets were swept in Milwaukee, leading to a decision to move the veteran starter and his 6.38 ERA to the bullpen.
The fallback option became the best option, especially when McLean’s name kept coming up in conversation with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and Syracuse manager Dick Scott.
“How he carries himself, like how he deals with adversity, his ability to navigate lineups, the way he fields his position and controls the running game,” Mendoza said of what he’s heard about McLean. “There’s a lot to like when you’re talking to a manager and the people that have seen him outing after outing.”
The Mets didn’t shed much light on why they chose McLean over Sproat, but McLean has posted better numbers with Triple-A Syracuse overall this season. A 24-year-old out of North Carolina, McLean is 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 16 games (13 starts) since he was promoted from Double-A Binghamton. Overall, he’s 8-5 with a 2.45 ERA in 21 appearances (18 starts) in two levels this season.
Sproat has a 4.10 ERA in 22 starts.
McLean’s 10.0 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate is the highest among all Syracuse starters. He misses bats with a spinning sweeper that gets a ton of horizontal movement, but mostly tries to keep the ball on the ground. His fastball mostly sits in the mid-90s, but he can reach back and hit 97-98 on occasion, and a low arm slot induces weak contact for ground balls.
McLean’s pitching success isn’t necessarily unexpected, but he is ahead of the timeline scouts initially expected when the Mets selected him in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Oklahoma State. A two-way player who transitioned solely to pitching last season, farm director Andy Green mentioned him to Mendoza as a potential bullpen arm during the Mets’ playoff push last summer.
“I remember Andy Green last year telling me, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if this kid helped you at the end of this year out of the bullpen,’” Mendoza said. “This was back last year when he was still hitting. That stuck out to me that he was that high on him.”
Blackburn will be used out of the bullpen once again. After Justin Hagenman went three innings in relief of Clay Holmes on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves, the Mets needed a fresh arm. Blackburn has been rehabbing off and on this season, first with a knee injury and most recently with a shoulder impingement, and the Mets were running out his rehab clock, scheduling another rehab game for him Wednesday in Triple-A. He woke up Wednesday morning in Syracuse to a missed call from pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, and heard a knock on his door soon after.
Blackburn pitched well as a starter, but struggled coming out of the bullpen earlier this season, making only six appearances and posting a 7.71 ERA. However, he’s spent plenty of time pitching in the minor leagues in rehab appearances this season, making 12 rehab starts between four levels.
This came after he was shut down with a freak injury last summer and underwent an offseason procedure to repair a spinal fluid leak in his mid-back. The Mets tried to trade him at the deadline, but were unable to move the nine-year veteran. The 31-year-old is eager to pitch again after spending the last year dealing with injuries and inconsistencies.
“I just want to pitch,” he said. “I just want to be in a place and pitch, that’s it. I’ve been on a flight every two days for the last month. I just want to be somewhere and pitch.”
RAIN DELAY
The start to Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves was delayed due to weather, which also delayed the planned pregame ceremony honoring Pete Alonso’s record-breaking home run. The slugger passed Darryl Strawberry with his 253rd home run Tuesday night, setting a new franchise record. The ceremony will take place Thursday night before the series finale against the Braves.
Originally Published:
