The New York Mets beat the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday to clinch the pivotal road series. They hold a five-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Just getting into the dance won't be enough for the Amazins, who have championship aspirations. If the Mets are going to win the World Series, they will need to rely on Nolan McLean to fix their starting pitching problems.
The Mets lost Luis Severino and Jose Quintana in free agency after their NLCS run. Team president David Stearns replaced them with Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes, who have both struggled this year. Without many starters on the move at the deadline, Stearns has turned to his minor leagues to fix the problem.
Both McLean and Jonah Tong have been stellar since they joined the big-league club. While that has helped them pull away from the Reds and could help them put them away this weekend, it is no guarantee that it will help in the postseason. McLean's stuff is nasty, going six innings with just two runs allowed against Detroit, but October is a different animal.
The Mets' fatal flaw is their starting pitching, with a current stopgap that may not be October-proof. Against strong National League competition, their pitching could get exposed. And in a short series, they would have to burn out their bullpen early on.
The only way for the Mets to fix this problem is to get Sean Manaea back on track. A spring training injury knocked him out until July 13, and now he has a 5.60 ERA in ten appearances. He was the ace of the staff last year in the postseason, but has been anything but this year.
This concern goes out the window if McLean is elite.
The Mets are relying on a young arm
While relying on a prospect to carry your rotation in October is risky, it is something the Mets have to do. Part of it is a team-building criticism, especially considering Quintana was one of the last players signed before spring training. But another part is poor performances across the board that Stearns could not have projected. Enter McLean, who can change it all.
Throughout their history, the Mets have been a pitching team. Tom Seaver is the greatest player in franchise history, Doc Gooden has one of the best pitching seasons ever on his resume, and the deGrom/Syndergaard/Harvey trio led them to the 2015 NL pennant. If McLean is the next entry on that historic list, they may be in fine shape.
There is reason to be optimistic that McLean and Tong could be the next great pitchers for the Mets. Stearns was in charge when the Milwaukee Brewers installed their pitching factory, which has brought them a lot of success. And their rise through the minor-league system has been full of success. That is a great reason to get excited for 2026, though, not necessarily a World Series run.
To make the World Series, the Mets would have to face three star-studded teams in the National League playoffs. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres provide a stiffer test than what the young pitchers have been seeing. While they could be great pitchers, World Series aspirations are weighing on their shoulders.
If the Mets plan to go back to Kodai Senga, Manaea, and Holmes for the playoffs, they won't be in the playoffs for very long. But if they go to McLean and Tong and things go poorly, they could ruin the development of the two pitchers. The Mets need to pay off their offseason investment in Juan Soto with a great postseason, but may not have the pitching to do it.
