Nolan McLean wasn’t supposed to make his final Citi Field start of the year Thursday night.
The hope was that the rookie right-hander would help pitch the Mets into October and be a part of a playoff run.
Those plans ended a while ago, and even McLean’s standout season wasn’t enough to get the Mets past their awful start.
Still, as they look to the future and believe they’ve found some good young players in outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, they’re also confident McLean can front a rotation that should also include pitchers with solid futures ahead of them, such as righty Christian Scott and lefty Zac Thornton.
None is more important than McLean, who made his 30th start of the year Thursday night in the Mets’ 3-0 loss to the Phillies in the opener of their final home series of the season. McLean enjoyed another quality start, holding the Phillies to one run over six innings, but suffered the loss and is now 11-10 with a solid 3.18 ERA.
McLean was also involved in a harrowing collision with Jared Young in the sixth inning when he inadvertently struck Young with his knee, forcing the first baseman to exit the game and to be stretchered off the field before being taken to the hospital.
Though his season ended on a tough note, McLean gave the Mets hope that he could be their ace of the future. No rookie pitcher in the National League has made more starts than McLean in 2026, and he also entered Thursday’s action with a league-high 166 ²/₃ innings and 184 strikeouts.
As interim manager Andy Green noted before Thursday’s loss, it’s not enough for McLean, who is scheduled to make one more start on the road before the end of the year.
“We’re encouraged he could handle that workload and demonstrate that durability,’’ Green said. “Frankly, he pushed back on me when we didn’t give him a start [Wednesday on four days’ rest]. He could do math. … I like the fact he pushed back on me and wanted to pitch. I also liked that he understood what we were solving for late in the season, and there wasn’t a reason to pitch on four days.”
Instead, McLean will likely have to settle for one more in Texas on Wednesday.
“He’ll take the ball every chance he gets,” veteran left-handed starter Sean Manaea said. “He wants to go deep into games and eat up innings. And he puts in the work every day. For his first full season [in the majors], it’s pretty incredible.”
For the Mets to make sure they aren’t in a similar situation down the stretch in the future, McLean will have to build on what he’s done.
At 25, that isn’t far-fetched.
As Green noted, McLean also took on the added pressure of pitching in the World Baseball Classic before the season.
McLean pitched 7 ²/₃ innings in the tournament before spring training was over, which Green believes will serve him well in the future.
“He can concoct a scenario in his head that he’s ‘got to get to 220 innings because that’s what I want to do the rest of my career.’ You love that about him and the way he’s wired and the way he wants to compete.”
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It’s part of what sets him apart from other pitchers, especially inexperienced pitchers, according to Manaea.
“No matter what the expectations were for him and his talent, you knew there would be ups and downs,’’ Manaea said. “There were a lot more ups, but he also does a great job of not letting one outing get to him. If he has a bad one, he moves on and doesn’t let it snowball. To withstand all of that for the first time, that’s a big step.”
He’ll miss out on adding to that workload in the playoffs, but the Mets have to hope McLean being one of their few bright spots will lead to them avoiding this situation again.
