How Paul Blackburn can fit into Mets’ rotation in the near future

Command was a big issue for Megill, who walked four batters in the third inning alone, and the Mets have lost his last four starts. Megill had gotten off to a red-hot start, working to a 1.09 ERA over his first five starts, but has seen his ERA jump by over two and a half runs since, walking 11 batters in 18.2 innings while working to an 8.76 ERA in his three May starts.

The Mets have needed Megill in the rotation since injuries to Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea have taken longer to heal than initially anticipated, but they do have a potential alternative on the way in rehabbing Paul Blackburn. After seeing the start of his season delayed due to injury, Blackburn has been building up his pitch count on a rehab assignment, working 4.1 innings and striking out seven for Double-A Binghamton on Friday night.

While the plan had been for Blackburn to step into a long relief role upon his return, much like the one Trevor Williams played for the Mets in 2022, Megill's struggles could change that equation. Blackburn threw 73 pitches for the Rumble Ponies on Friday, so he isn't quite built up to a starter's workload yet. And according to manager Carlos Mendoza, the Mets will give him at least one more minor league start and then go from there.

Following his next minor league start, the Mets could insert Blackburn into their rotation and option Megill down to Triple-A Syracuse to work on his command. Megill does have one minor league option left while Blackburn is out of options.

While it's true that Megill had a strong start to the season and the Mets like his improved repertoire, the results he has provided since the calendar flipped to May won't cut it for much longer. Perhaps Megill's strong April will provide him a bit more runway, with the Mets opting to send down Max Kranick to activate Blackburn on Monday, but Blackburn's presence could put some heat on Megill to perform better or risk losing his rotation spot. Kranick has also been more than reliable in relief.