NEW YORK -- A little before the Mets’ emphatic 10-6 win over the Giants on Friday night, president of baseball operations David Stearns sat in the press conference room at Citi Field and remained bullish on the “emerging young core” that’s taken a foothold on the Major League roster this year. Amid a rather disappointing year, players like Nolan McLean and Carson Benge have built momentum towards a final run in September that could be crucial in their development.
But another promising player -- whose uneven performance this year has tempered the excitement around him -- is returning with the chance to reclaim his spot among the Mets’ heralded young core.
After Friday night’s win, interim manager Andy Green announced that Jonah Tong would return to the big leagues to start the series opener against the Marlins on Monday. It will be Tong’s first appearance in the Majors since June 2, 2026, when he took the loss in a bulk outing against the Mariners. It will also be Tong’s first big league start since Sept. 24, 2025, against the Cubs.
“I think we kind of rearranged our rotation coming out of the off-day,” Green said. “We knew the three guys going this series, and we now [can] say Jonah will start the first game against Miami. Sean [Manaea] will start the next one, and then we’ll figure out where we are that last day in Miami.”
Considering the arrangement of the Mets’ staff, Robert Stock pitched one-third of an inning in relief against the Giants on Friday, likely indicating a move to the bullpen for him to account for Tong’s arrival. Until that brief appearance, Stock had made six starts for New York in August, notching a 1-3 record with a 5.88 ERA.
Tong -- now the No. 5 prospect in the Mets’ system -- has pulled himself back from a rough stretch of months following his ascension through the Minor Leagues and a triumphant MLB debut in August 2025. He floundered during Spring Training and spent the early parts of his 2026 campaign struggling with results and mechanical issues at Triple-A Syracuse.
However, the 23-year-old right-hander has seemingly righted the ship. Over his past four outings with Syracuse, he has allowed just two runs over 21 1/3 innings, even finishing just one out shy of a no-hitter in his most recent start. It remains to be seen what version of Tong returns to the Majors against Miami (a team he’s allowed one earned run against in two career outings over eight innings), but there’s a feeling that this represents a second chance for him -- a re-introduction with a more relaxed mindset.
“There’s a lot of things from a season standpoint that didn’t go my way from a results standpoint,” Tong told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo recently. “I own that. I wear that. And I’m going to be better for it. But honestly, from a mental side, it’s only helped. It’s given me more experiences to lean on. And I’m really excited to see not only the person I am this year, but for the rest of my career and how I can relate back to this at any point.”