SAN FRANCISCO — It was a small accomplishment, but the Mets rotation is one step closer to being complete again.
Tylor Megill (right biceps tendinitis) played long toss on Monday and it went well, the Mets said before their game against the Giants. Megill has been on the injured list for just over one week, but the sooner he can ramp up the sooner the team will welcome his return.
“He had a good day today,” Buck Showalter said. “It was good news. He’s progressing well today.”
Megill posted a 2.43 ERA in his first six starts of the season, with the Mets going 5-1 in those half-dozen outings. He coughed up eight earned runs and recorded only four outs against the Nationals in his final outing before landing on the IL.
With three key Mets starters on the shelf, Showalter and the front office have entered the spot-starter portion of the schedule. Max Scherzer (oblique strain) and Jacob deGrom (scapula stress reaction) are both out and rehabbing for at least the next month, with neither likely to return before July.
The team is leaning toward calling up minor league left-hander Thomas Szapucki for their Wednesday series finale against the Giants, while Trevor Williams is also an option. Szapucki has a 2.86 ERA over seven starts and 22 innings for Triple-A Syracuse this season.
R.I.P.
Joe Pignatano, the last living coach from the 1969 Miracle Mets, died Monday morning in Naples, Fla. from dementia, the Mets announced. He was 92.
Pignatano played for the 1962 Mets, and was the club’s bullpen coach from 1968-1981. He was well-known for cultivating a vegetable garden, specifically tomatoes, in the Shea Stadium bullpen. The Brooklyn native played in the majors from 1957-1962 with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Athletics, San Francisco Giants and the Mets.
HOUSEKEEPING
The Mets optioned reliever Jake Reed to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Monday’s starter, David Peterson. They will need to make another roster move this week if they decide to call up Szapucki for Wednesday’s start.
In addition, third base coach Joey Cora was absent from the team due to personal reasons on Monday for their series opener at Oracle Park. Bench coach Glenn Sherlock took over for Cora’s coaching duties, while Dick Scott returned to the Mets dugout to fill in as bench coach.
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