MIAMI -- As they approach two consecutive all-hands-on-deck games in an effort to save their season, the Mets are turning to a rookie with no Major League experience at all.
The team called up No. 20 prospect Dylan Ross, a right-handed reliever who has been clocked as high as 102 mph this season, before Saturday's game vs. the Marlins. Ross, the Mets’ 13th-round Draft pick in 2022, struck out 80 batters over 54 innings, rising from High-A Brooklyn all the way to Triple-A Syracuse, where he ended his Minor League campaign with 11 consecutive scoreless outings.
Ross had been among a group of pitchers the Mets were keeping in shape at their Spring Training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla., just a two-hour drive from Miami.
“All the moments are the same -- just take it as another day, another outing,” Ross said. “I think I’ve always tried to have the mind of whether it’s the ninth and you’re up 14 runs or down 14 runs, or it’s a tie ballgame, extra innings, just attack the zone and attack everybody I can and try to get results.
“I don’t care who you are, I’m going to come after you and attack you.”
Entering Friday’s play, the Mets wanted to keep veteran reliever Kevin Herget on their active roster in the event they needed him for multiple innings. Herget wound up facing four batters and was subsequently designated for assignment to clear roster space for Ross.
In a must-win game Saturday against the Marlins, the Mets intend to start Clay Holmes. Every pitcher outside of Nolan McLean, who's lined up for Wild Card Series Game 1, was available to contribute. The club has not named a starter for Sunday, which could be a pure bullpen game.
It remains to be seen how the Mets will insert Ross into that mix, if he pitches at all. Ross is a risky asset because of his control; he walked 5.5 batters per nine innings this year in the Minors, though he managed to produce a 2.17 ERA in spite of it.
“Elite stuff, obviously,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But I don’t know where we’re at that there’s going to be soft spots for him. This is where we’re at. We’re going to try to mix and match and use who’s available. He’s here for a reason. For me to sit here and say we’re going to try to find a softer lane, I don’t think that’s going to be the case here.”