The New York Mets are just 26-35 despite having the highest total payroll allocations in baseball at $334.5 million (per Spotrac), but their farm system provides a silver lining. Outfielder/second baseman A.J. Ewing and right-handed pitcher Jonah Tong are ranked Nos. 33 and 35 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospect Rankings, respectively, and both have gotten big-league reps this season.
Tong, who is New York’s No. 2 prospect behind Ewing, has allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits over 10 innings, with seven strikeouts against seven walks. The 22-year-old has earned the chance to pitch at the top level, as he’s 17-14 with a 2.96 ERA over 66 career minor-league outings (62 starts).
However, the Mets sent Tong back down to Triple-A before their matchup with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, per The Athletic’s Will Sammon.
With a need for a fresh pitcher and after struggling last night, the Mets are optioning Jonah Tong, league sources said: https://t.co/4BAs9kJLIc
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) June 3, 2026
Mets Must Preserve Bullpen With Season on Brink
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
New York will replace Tong with a fresh pitcher, although the corresponding move is not yet known, according to Sammon. This follows the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder’s outing on Tuesday, when he allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits over 3.1 innings in the 8-3 loss to Seattle.
The Mets have used Tong as a long reliever in each of his three outings this season after using him as a starter last year. They called the Ontario native up in late August, and he went 2-3 with a 7.71 ERA across five starts.
New York has put stress on its bullpen this year due to its hectic starting rotation. Right-handers Nolan McLean, Freddy Peralta and Christian Scott are the only permanent and healthy starters, as fellow right-hander Kodai Senga (spine) is on the 15-day injured list and hasn’t pitched since April 26, per MLB.com.
Additionally, right-hander Clay Holmes (fibula) is on the 60-day injured list, southpaw David Peterson has struggled (3-5, 5.18 ERA) and southpaw Sean Manaea was moved to the bullpen to start the season after going 2-4 with a 5.64 ERA over 15 outings (12 starts) in 2025. However, the Mets replaced Peterson with Manaea (5.08 ERA) in the rotation on Friday, per MLB.com.
New York used six pitchers in Monday 3-2 loss to Seattle, which lasted 10 innings, before using four on Tuesday. Replacing Tong with a fresh hurler helps the club reserve its primary bullpen arms like right-hander Luke Weaver (2.77 ERA), left-hander A.J. Minter (0.00 ERA) and left-hander Brooks Raley (1.61 ERA).
The Mets are in last place entering Wednesday’s game, 1.5 games behind the Miami Marlins for fourth in the National League East. Peralta will start the Seattle matchup, with the first pitch at 3:40 p.m. ET.
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