Mets Notes: Sean Manaea to start Sunday with Clay Holmes out of bullpen; UCL surgery 'most likely' for Tylor Megill

Prior to the Mets game on Saturday against the Washington Nationals, manager Carlos Mendoza gave a handful of updates on the team…

Sunday's pitching plan

Sean Manaea will return from the paternity list and start New York's final home game of the regular season on Sunday against the Nats with Clay Holmes available out of the bullpen.

New York flipped things around compared to last time both players pitched, as Holmes started and threw four innings with Manaea coming in to finish the final five innings of the game.

In Manaea's last start on Sept. 9 against the Philadelphia Phillies, he gave up two home runs and allowed four runs on five hits over 5.0 IP. The lefty bounced back with his bullpen performance, allowing one run on a solo HR over 5.0 IP.

"It helps when we're making these decisions, the fact that they've done it in the past," Mendoza said. "But again, they want to start and we consider them starters. But given where we're at, they're all on board, they understand. When it comes down for us making those decisions, they know what it takes to come out of the bullpen. It's a completely different routine, but they've done it before, so that helps."

UCL surgery on the table for Megill

Tylor Megill, who felt tightness when throwing his secondary pitches in his rehab start, will go to Los Angeles for an in-person visit and it's "most likely" he'll get UCL surgery.

Megill has been out since June 14 and started his rehab in the minor leagues on Aug. 12. He went 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA over six starts in Double-A and Triple-A, having last allowed five runs over 2.0 IP on Sept. 7.

The 30-year-old would likely miss the entire 2026 season if he gets UCL surgery. He has two more years of arbitration on his contract before becoming a free agent ahead of the 2028 season. 

Megill finished the 2024 season with a 5-5 record, 3.95 ERA, and 89 strikeouts over 68.1 IP across 14 starts. The righty owns a career 26-26 record with a 4.46 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 435 strikeouts.

No update on Garrett

Reed Garrett was placed on the 15-day IL on Thursday with a "concerning" elbow injury and the team is still determining the next steps for him.

"Reed Garrett, we haven't heard anything," Mendoza said. "We know he's got a ligament strain there, but there's a couple of options that are being recommended. We're still waiting for a couple of other doctors to review it and give us more information there."

The reliever landed back on the IL after just being activated on Sept. 7 while dealing with right elbow inflammation.

Mendoza said Thursday that Garrett is experiencing similar issues as he did with his last IL stint and "continues to have a hard time recovering after every time he pitched."

Senga to throw live BP

Mendoza spoke Friday about the next steps for Kodai Senga, saying he will face hitters again, but they weren't sure in what environment that would take place.

The team made a decision Saturday and will have Senga throw a live BP next week.

Mendoza said Thursday that Senga is not a lock to make the potential postseason roster and the righty didn't help his case, having a rough second outing in Triple-A.

"Stuff-wise was down. Whether it was the velo, execution, the secondary pitches weren't sharp," Mendoza said Friday. "That's the report I got, and watching film, you could see it. That's probably one of the reasons why he's asking for one more time to face hitters, to continue to work through those issues."

Taylor getting close to returning

Tyrone Taylor (hamstring strain) played in a rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse on Friday night and will do so again Sunday.

He was seen taking batting practice at Citi Field on Saturday and told reporters that he's feeling "100 percent."

Taylor went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the sixth inning and was subbed out in the bottom of the seventh.

"He's playing tomorrow again in Triple-A," Mendoza said. "We just got to build up volume, making sure that he continues to play. Like he told you guys, he feels good physically. Now it's more getting him to be able to play nine innings back-to-back."