After a run sparked by an iconic McDonald’s mascot and a song by Candelita, the New York Mets have turned their 2024 season around and are now in the final wild-card spot at the all-star break with a 49-46 record.
Since returning to postseason contention, president of baseball operations David Stearns has made some moves to strengthen the bullpen by acquiring Matt Gage and Phil Maton. Despite those two moves, Stearns has continued to look for help and found some on the waiver wire when the blue and orange claimed Alex Young off of waivers from the San Francisco Giants.
To make space for Young on the 40-man roster, the Mets had to designate a former sixth overall pick for assignment.
The Mets have designated Tyler Jay for assignment
According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets have designated relief pitcher Tyler Jay for assignment.
The former sixth-overall pick of the 2015 MLB draft was out of major league baseball entirety before the Mets purchased his contract in the middle of the 2023 season. Jay returned to the organization for the 2024 campaign and had a cup of coffee in the big leagues, pitching 4.2 innings across three appearances to a 7.71 ERA with 2.143 WHIP and three strikeouts.
The Illinois native faired much better pitching for Triple-A Syracuse, pitching 41.1 innings across 23 appearances, one of which was a start, to a 2.40 ERA with a 1.016 WHIP and 30 strikeouts.
What does this mean for the Mets?
The move to get rid of Jay makes plenty of sense despite his stellar Triple-A numbers. His replacement, Young, is essentially a better version of the former sixth-overall pick by the numbers and still gives the Mets an option to call up a lefty.
Jay was designated for assignment by the Mets back in April and went unclaimed, so he could still find his way back to the organization if no other team is interested.
Time will tell where the 30-year-old ends up, but for the moment, it appears that his time in the Big Apple is concluding.
