Tobias Myers Has One Winter to Win a Bullpen Job: Inside the Mets' 2027 Relief Race

Every October, a roster bubble starts to form in Queens, and right now Tobias Myers is standing squarely on it. The right-hander arrived with real optimism after the Mets' big offseason trade with Milwaukee, and his 2026 turned into one of those seasons that makes you squint at the box score and wonder which version of a pitcher you actually got.

Start with the rough part. Myers finished the year with an ERA north of five, and the stretch from May through July was ugly, with the numbers sitting at six or worse in each of those months. His three starts did the most damage, and by August he had been sent down to regroup. That is the kind of line that gets a pitcher quietly pushed down the depth chart.

Now the encouraging part, because there is one. Out of the bullpen he was a noticeably better pitcher than the overall numbers suggest, and after being recalled in September he looked sharp, posting an ERA barely above one across a handful of outings. Small sample, sure. But when a guy comes back from a demotion and throws like that, you notice. It hints that the stuff plays when he is given a defined job and a short leash.

That is really the heart of this story. Myers does not look like a starter the Mets can lean on, at least not on this evidence. He looks like a possible multi-inning bullpen piece, the kind of arm who can soak up a few awkward innings when a starter exits early. Every contender needs that guy, and every contender also has plenty of candidates for the role.

And that is the problem for Myers. The competition behind him is real. Nate Lavender, Daniel Duarte, Justin Hagenman and Jonathan Pintaro are all part of the conversation, and the Mets will not hand out a spot because of a name on a trade ledger. Add in the strong chatter that the front office will be aggressive on the pitching market this winter, and the number of open bullpen chairs might shrink fast.

Think about how that math works. If the Mets land a major arm for the rotation, a young starter gets bumped to the bullpen, and suddenly the long-man job has three or four people circling it. Myers cannot count on his September alone to carry him. He needs to show up in February throwing the way he did in the final weeks, and he needs to do it right away.

There is also a quieter factor, which is his versatility. Roster builders love a pitcher who can do more than one job, and Myers has at least shown he can survive in relief. If he can pair that with better command early in counts, he becomes a useful depth option rather than a luxury the club can afford to cut.

As a fan, I like rooting for this kind of guy. Not every roster battle is about a headline free agent. Some of the most important innings of a season come from the sixth or seventh arm in the pen, and a bad one can swing a series. A bounce-back from Myers would be a small win that helps a lot of nights.

So what should we watch for in spring? First, how his fastball plays when the pressure is lower. Second, whether the Mets use him in clearly defined relief spots rather than bouncing him between roles. Third, how he looks against the other bullpen hopefuls in the same innings. Those answers will tell us pretty quickly whether September was a real turning point or just a hot streak.

Right now, I would call his chances of making the Opening Day bullpen a coin flip at best. The upside is that he controls his own fate. A strong spring changes the whole picture, and a slow one makes it easy for the club to move on.

What do you think, Mets fans? Is Myers worth a bullpen spot, or should the team go with fresher arms? Drop your take below and let us know who you would want on that Opening Day roster.