ATLANTA — There were years where Tyler Jay thought this day would never come. When he was out of baseball and trying out for a local independent league team in his Chicago-area home, the left-handed reliever would go to bed at night wondering if his quest to reach the Major Leagues was worth it.
Thursday, he finally made it, reaching the big leagues nearly nine years after he was drafted out of the University of Illinois, eight days shy of his 30th birthday. Jay and his wife have 4-month-old twin daughters at home and someday, when they’re old enough to understand, their dad will tell them about the day in Atlanta when his dream finally became a reality.
“They get to know Dad never quit,” Jay said Thursday at Truist Park. “Which means a lot to me. It definitely means a little bit more nowadays.”
Jay pitched two innings in the Mets’ 16-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. It’s a moment he once thought would come much earlier. Jay was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft and was considered one of the Minnesota Twins top prospects for a few years after. But Jay was injured continually and at one point it was thought that he might have thoracic outlet syndrome.
Jay also struggled with eosinophilic esophagitis, which causes the esophagus to become inflamed when the immune system makes white blood cells in reaction to an allergen.
The road to the big leagues was nothing like he imagined it when he was 21.
“Every day, you just get up and just continue to grind,” Jay said. “I’m surrounded by a bunch of good people at home that were encouraging me to keep on going and believed in me when maybe I didn’t believe in myself that time.”
Jay got the call Tuesday night, the same night one of his Syracuse teammates, Dedniel Nuñez made his Major League debut at 27. He arrived in Atlanta only to find out his first big league game would be postponed. But it gave his family and friends time to make the trip down south.
His wife, mother and stepfather flew to Atlanta, as did his longtime trainer in Chicago, Kyle Bracey, who stopped what he was doing to get on a plane and support Jay. Jay’s cousin drove from Nashville.
The babies, however, stayed home.
“My wife probably needed a little breather too,” Jay said. “Get her a little break. She’s been at home with them.”
The only person who wasn’t there was his dad, Brian.
“I wish my dad was here,” the lanky lefty said. “He’s caught up, but I know he’s watching and super proud.”
The Mets gave him the title belt as the pitcher of the game, with right-hander Reed Garrett awarding it to him in the clubhouse as they celebrated a win.
SETTING THE ROTATION
The Mets will honor a pitcher who had a career unlike any other Sunday at Citi Field when they retire Dwight Gooden’s No. 16. As for who will pitch against the Kanas City Royals following that ceremony, the Mets still need to figure that out.
With the Mets receiving an unexpected off day Wednesday when their game against the Atlanta Braves was postponed, the Amazins have room to play around with their rotation. But there’s an open spot Sunday that would have been Julio Teheran had the Mets not designated him for assignment after only a single start. The Mets will announce their starter Friday or Saturday.
“We’re not in a position to announce a starter for Sunday,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday before the Mets completed their series against the Braves at Truist Park. “But we have a pretty good idea.”
Luis Severino will pitch Friday with Sean Manaea going Saturday. Right-hander José Butto and left-hander Joey Lucchesi are the most likely candidates.
MASTERS McNEIL
Second baseman Jeff McNeil, an avid golfer, has a bold prediction for the 2024 Masters: Tiger Woods will win his first major since 2019.
McNeil drove in three runs Thursday in the win, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks and two runs scored.
