Christian Scott was confident that he would make a return from a sprained ulnar collateral ligament to be able to help the Mets reach the postseason. The Mets’ 25-year-old rookie righty had already dealt with the same injury last season and was able to return in time to help Double-A Binghamton earn a spot in the Eastern League Playoffs. But Scott kept hitting a snag when it came to throwing his offspeed pitches in recent bullpen sessions. After consulting with the Mets’ medical team and Dr. Keith Meister, it was decided that a Tommy John procedure was the best course of action. Scott is expected to return in 2026. Scott’s agent, Nate Heisler of Klutch Sports, announced the news on X on Wednesday, saying he would undergo a Tommy John/internal brace hybrid procedure next week. “After last year, I was generally optimistic about this process and being able to have success this way,” Scott said Wednesday at Citi Field. “Being able to rebound last year definitely gave me hope for this process this time. I just couldn’t get over the hump with the offspeed pitches this time.” It was telling when Scott was unable to raise the velocity on his offspeeed offerings past the low 80s. Surgery wasn’t on his radar, but in this era of baseball, it comes for most pitchers. Scott will become the third Mets‘ hurler to undergo the same hybrid procedure this season, joining relievers Brooks Raley and Drew Smith. Dr. Meister performed their surgeries as well. “It’s never that never really crossed my mind,” Scott said of the thought of UCL reconstruction surgery. “Honestly, every time I go out there — if I feel like I can pitch — I’m going to go pitch to the best of my abilities. To do this at a high level, you have to be completely focused on what you’re doing on the mound, right? So even after last year when I was dealing with it, I went out and I didn’t notice it all, didn’t think about it all.” If there’s one thing the Mets learned about Scott this season, it’s that nothing fazes him. Scott’s easy-going demeanor helped him succeed on the mound and it helped him when he struggled. He took every start as a learning experience and often pitched better than his 0-3 record would indicate. In nine starts, Scott received little run support, with the Mets going 2-7 when he was on the mound. He held the Tampa Bay Rays to only one run over six innings in his big league debut, pitching in front of friends and family in his home state of Florida. He memorably said he “slept like a baby” the night before and rarely, if ever, did Scott appear rattled. Scott finished his rookie season with an ERA of 4.56 and a FIP of 4.61. He struck out 7.4 hitters per nine innings and walked only 2.3, the lowest rate among all Mets starters this season outside of Kodai Senga, who pitched only 5 1/3 innings. “He took the baseball for us and he gave us a chance,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “He continues to learn and he knows what it takes to be a big league player, what it takes to be a big league pitcher, and just having the understanding of the grind and everything that comes with being a big-league player.” The University of Florida product was a success story for an organization that has struggled to develop starting pitching in recent seasons. Scott was drafted as a reliever, but the player development staff turned him into a starter by helping him add new pitches, as well as showing him when to throw them and in what counts. The Mets were hoping to be able to start building a rotation around Scott and prospects Mike Vasil, Brandon Sproat and Blade Tidwell, but Vasil and Tidwell have had tough seasons in Triple-A this year, and Sproat has good results and bad since his Triple-A promotion in August. It would appear as though the pipeline isn’t quite flowing the way the Mets had hoped, at least not yet. “I love to go and compete and I love to do what I do. This is the best job in the world, so, yeah, it sucks,” Scott said. “At the same time, this is what we signed up for. So it’s unfortunate, but at the same time, I have to be positive about it and go out and be the best version of myself I possibly can on a day-to-day basis, do everything I can to get my body back in a position to compete in 2026. “I’m excited about the process that we’re going to go and attack full on.”