NEW YORK -- During Christian Scott’s big-league debut in 2024, the moment never felt too big for him. During Scott’s season debut in 2026, he recognizes in retrospect, it absolutely did.
At the time of Scott’s 2024 debut in St. Petersburg, he had been charging through the Minors for parts of four seasons, shooting up prospect lists and refining his craft until the Mets couldn’t keep him down any longer. He was at the top of his game, and he knew it.
Contrast that to 2026, when Scott debuted after spending a year and a half rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. For much of that time, Scott was not allowed to throw a baseball. Eventually, he graduated to monotonous games of catch, then to long toss, then to bullpen sessions, live batting practice and finally Minor League games. The tedium of a hot summer spent in Florida ate at him. He whiled away the hours playing online chess. All the while, Scott’s mind was singularly focused on making it back to the Majors.
So when the chance finally came on April 23, Scott acknowledges now, he let the moment get a bit too big, walking five of the 10 Twins batters he faced, hitting another, committing a balk and recording just four outs. It was the briefest outing of his young Major League career.
“It started to get away [from me],” Scott said. “It was just like, first walk, second walk, that’s not really who I am. Then you start aiming it. You try to throw the ball over the plate. It kind of spiraled. … I’m just excited for the opportunity to come back and be able to pitch again.”
The day after Scott’s start, the Mets optioned him back to Triple-A Syracuse amidst a roster crunch, setting up the possibility that he might spend weeks or months in the Minors. But Kodai Senga’s surprise assignment to the injured list on Tuesday reopened a spot for Scott, who will start Friday’s series opener in Anaheim. It’s a second chance within a second chance for the right-hander, who underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2024.
“I’m still super confident,” Scott said. “I still trust my stuff and believe in it. I know that if I go out there, I belong at this level. So I’m not too worried about it. But definitely something to learn from, to take with me to the next couple starts and throughout my career. You can’t let the moment get too big like that, especially when things start to go south.”
Given the state of their rotation, the Mets are counting on Scott not just to avoid another slip-up, but also to become a long-term contributor to their rotation. Heading into Anaheim, the Mets continue to search for pitching answers with Senga on the IL, David Peterson struggling at the Major League level and Jonah Tong doing the same at Triple-A. Scott, who produced a 4.56 ERA in nine starts as a rookie and a 5.27 mark over three Minor League outings this season, presents a potential solution.
If he pitches well, he can stay in this rotation for the rest of the season -- potentially even for years to come.
Still technically a rookie, the 26-year-old Scott features the same high-octane arsenal he did back in 2024, with the addition of a cutter that he perfected during rehab and now uses liberally. His four-seam fastball still hovers in the mid-90s, spiking even higher than that. Off the field, Scott remains the same easygoing personality he has always been -- precisely the type of formula that can help the Mets right now.
“I just want to pitch and do my thing, honestly,” Scott said. “I don’t really care where it is, if I’m being honest. Obviously, I want to be here and help the team win games as much as I can. But just being able to be back and playing the game of baseball that I love, there’s nothing that I’d rather do.”