Tylor Megill was far from great Saturday night in the Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Reds at Citi Field, but he was solid for a third time in his past four starts and finally got his ERA under 5.00 for the first time since June.
On Friday, David Peterson struck out a season-high 10 batters in a win over the Reds.
That followed Joey Lucchesi, who tossed seven shutout innings against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
And Jose Butto also delivered consecutive solid outings in his past two starts.
While those are encouraging signs, especially for a team with as many rotation question marks for 2024 as the Mets have, manager Buck Showalter pointed out that it is hard to make too much of those performances, since his team is far from playoff contention.
Still, Showalter — whose own future with the organization is unclear with former Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns slated to take the same position with the Mets next month — said there was information to glean from the way the inexperienced portion of the rotation has performed down the stretch.
“It’s that time,’’ Showalter said of the pitchers putting up numbers when there’s not much on the line for the Mets. “In spring training and now, be careful [of what you see]. But what do you want them to do, not pitch well?”
As of now, only Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana — if the left-hander isn’t traded in the offseason — are assured of spots in the rotation next year.
As Showalter noted, Megill, Peterson, Lucchesi and Butto will all have minor league options next season, meaning they can be sent down without having to pass through waivers.
Perhaps a positive end to 2023 will propel those pitchers to a better position next year.
Megill gave up three runs (two earned) and nine hits over 5 ²/₃ innings on Saturday.
The right-hander called the outing “a grind,” and when asked about auditioning for the 2024 rotation, said his goal was to “go out and pitch like I can pitch.”
Megill walked two, but was disappointed that he allowed as many base-runners as he did.
“They’re trying to present themselves well for the future and also try to finish strong this year and give the team a chance to win,’’ Showalter said of the four unproven pitchers.
It’s easy to be deceived by some late-season showings, but there are certain aspects of pitching that can tell teams an inexperienced pitcher is more likely to take the next step — and that’s what the Mets will be monitoring during the final two weeks of this season.
“You look for, ‘Is it legit?’ ” Showalter said of whether those good signs are sustainable down the road. “Does it play any time of the year?”
There are several parts of pitchers’ arsenals Showalter and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, as well as the front office, will be keeping a close eye on the rest of the way.
“Command plays,” Showalter said. “The shape and consistency of a breaking ball. The ability to land something soft and make people honor other pitches. That plays any time of year, regardless of the atmosphere.”
Showalter added, “I want these guys to finish strong and feel good about themselves in the offseason.”
He also quickly noted that even if they accomplish that feat, it won’t necessarily have any impact on what they do next season.
“That’s why I’m so respectful of teams, coaches and players that do things [well] year in and year out,” Showalter said.
