PORT ST. LUCIE — Tylor Megill has been here before, last year, the before that and the year before that too. The pattern was the same, with the right-hander with good stuff making the team out of camp and starting off hot, before ultimately being demoted to the Triple-A. In 2025, he’s working ha rd to break that pattern. “Obviously, it’s been a few years of being a fill-in, with guys going down and coming in. At some point, things kind of change,” Megill said Sunday at Clover Park after being named to the Mets’ Opening Day roster. “You want to be a guy that sticks, and after a few years, I guess things start to click.” The Mets informed Megill that he secured a spot on the Opening Day roster this weekend, lining him up to pitch Friday night in Houston against the Astros. It’s a big season for the big right-hander, who has one more option year left, but is hoping to stay as far away from Syracuse as possible. The option isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a player like him. If he doesn’t stick, the Mets can send him back to Triple-A if he needs to rebuild his confidence. But he seems to understand that his chances aren’t unlimited. With a career ERA of 4.56 and a FIP of 4.40, the Mets have discussed using him out of the bullpen, but the club continues to value him as a starter, and will continue to give him starts in his fifth big league season. Megill might have some of the best raw stuff on the pitching staff, but shaky command has led to four years of inconsistency. Being able to use all eight pitches is nice, but it doesn’t mean much if he can’t throw them for strikes or sequence them properly. At times, he’s used his breaking pitches to try to get swings and misses early in the count, only to see hitters lay off of them and fall behind. It’s led to high pitch counts and high walk rates. Coming into spring training this year, the Mets asked him to “simplify” his pitch mix. That might mean not using all eight pitches in each outing. “I’m sticking with my strengths — four-seamer, sinker, slider, and I worked on a curveball this offseason as well with my brother, [Milwaukee Brewers reliever Trevor Megill],” he said. “Trying to get that figured out before was kind of like, just a get-me-over dumper for a strike, whereas now, it’s a lot harder and tighter, so I think it’s more lethal, I guess you could say. I can get a swing-and-miss chase, and use it with two strikes instead of just a get-ahead pitch. And then obviously, the changeup, I’m bringing it back.” The sinker was the key for Megill late last season when he went 2-0 with a 2.32 ERA in his final six starts of the season in August and September. He threw more strikes and put himself in better counts. The walks were still there, but he was able to get weak contact and ground-ball outs by throwing the sinker that breaks in to right-handed hitters. “It keeps them a little honest,” Megill said. “Not being able to get out over the plate opens up the outer half, and then now they’ve got to worry about the inner half as well. It’s getting a lot of balls in play on the ground and early contact, which is good.” The splitter, also known as the “American Spork” will still be used, but when necessary. It’s a good pitch, but Megill forced it at times last year and in counts when it wasn’t the optimal choice. President of baseball operations David Stearns talked about Megill on the SNY broadcast Sunday, saying a big jump isn’t needed with how good his stuff is. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner have maintained a belief in Megill, trusting that with enough experience, he’ll learn and grow from his struggles. But that hasn’t always been easy for the soft-spoken Californian. He has openly admitted to losing confidence at times. Every spring, Megill starts low on the depth chart, but manages to earn a spot on the team. He was the Mets’ Opening Day starter in 2022 when Jacob deGrom was injured. The following year, he was set to start the season in Syracuse until Justin Verlander was injured, which opened the door for him to start the home opener. Last season, he started the final game of the opening series against the Brewers and his brother in place of the injured Kodai Senga, but left the early and landed on the IL. Up, down, back and forth from the majors to the minors. It hasn’t been easy for the 6-foot-7 29-year-old, but this season, the Mets see a man “on a mission” to make it to the bigs — and make it for good. “I want to go out, I want to compete, and I want to win games,” Megill said. “I’m obviously trying to prove myself every time I go out there. But it’s just consistency.” ...read more read less