ATLANTA — Tobias Myers, once a promising pitcher for the Mets, now finds himself increasingly distanced from major league opportunities as the season heads towards its climax.
After being sent down in June, the right-handed hurler has struggled significantly, posting a disappointing 8.24 ERA over his last eight outings for Triple-A Syracuse, where he has resumed his role as a starting pitcher.
The season began with Myers serving as a versatile option for the Mets. His arrival, alongside Freddy Peralta in a winter trade deal with the Brewers, brought high expectations.
“He possesses the kind of talent necessary to succeed in the major leagues,” said interim manager Andy Green before the Mets faced a 6-3 defeat against the Braves on Wednesday at Truist Field. “It’s just not translating right now in Triple-A. He has the potential to turn things around, thanks to his commendable work ethic. He simply needs to showcase it. If he manages to do so, I’m confident he’ll make his way back,” Green added.
According to Green, the primary challenge for Myers has been a noticeable drop in his pitching velocity.
“The most recent outing he was sitting around 90 [mph],” Green said. “He’s been successful in the big leagues, there was an outing last year he went 3 ¹/₃ [innings], he was up to 98 and was sitting at 96. He has bullied hitters with his fastball and then the split plays off it. That is not happening right now. That belongs to him, and our pitching group is there to help him. But he’s got the opportunity to change that and he’s somebody we do believe in and want back here.”
Cristian Pache spent most of the season at Syracuse wondering if he would get an opportunity with the Mets. The veteran is now receiving that opportunity as the team’s fifth outfielder following the trade that sent Tyrone Taylor to the Cubs.
“I will keep working to play,” Pache said. “I want to do more for the team.”
Pache has primarily served as a late-inning defensive replacement in games Brett Baty has started in the outfield.
“The elite defense, the baserunning, kind of fits that role for us if we need that,” Green said. “Those are the skill sets we value with him and there’s not a lot of starts [for him] with the other guys in the outfield.”
Francisco Alvarez’s .838 OPS for August entering play wasn’t unnoticed by Green.
“I think [his at-bats] have just been really competitive, every one of them, for the most part,” Green said. “The power is there. The hits are there. He’s starting to drive in runs as well. Alvy’s ceiling is still astronomically high. He has the capacity to do so much in this game and to see a lot of it come out and see his OPS continue to march northward, it’s fun to see.”
The Mets fell to 18-21 against NL East opponents this season. They will continue their division slate with three games against the Nationals beginning Friday at Citi Field.