The New York Mets optioned right-hander Jefry Yan to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday and recalled Tobias Myers to fill his bullpen spot. The move comes deep in the 2026 stretch run, and the reason isn’t hard to read: Yan throws one of the nastiest fastballs in the Mets’ bullpen — 97.7 mph, 92nd percentile across all of MLB — but he’s issued 11 walks in just 12.2 innings. That kind of generosity doesn’t fly when every game matters.
The Arm Is There. The Command Isn’t.
In 13 appearances with New York in 2026, Yan struck out 27.4% of batters faced and his fastball averaged 2,479 rpm of spin — 91st percentile league-wide. Those aren’t middle-reliever numbers; that’s weapon-grade stuff. The trouble is that alongside those 17 strikeouts came 11 free passes. A 17.7% walk rate is simply too steep to hold a September roster spot on a team still fighting for something. His ERA of 5.68 and WHIP of 1.82 tell you exactly what happens when a pitcher dominates some hitters and hands first base to others.
What makes Yan’s case genuinely interesting is his xERA of 4.60. That figure — built on the quality of contact he allowed rather than raw results — suggests he’s not as far off as the box score implies. Opposing hitters are making contact at just 88.5 mph exit velocity, a moderate number that says the contact itself isn’t the problem. His 6.1% barrel rate isn’t alarming either. The stuff plays. The location doesn’t — yet.
Tobias Myers Steps In
To cover the vacancy, New York called Myers up from the same Syracuse affiliate. It’s a standard September roster move, giving the Mets an immediate option for a bullpen that can’t afford to spot opponents free runs at this point in the year. Myers arrives as a stabilizing piece while Yan heads back to work on the one thing his Statcast profile can’t fix for him: throwing strikes when the game tightens up.
The Mets are betting that the consistency Yan hasn’t found at the big-league level will come with more reps in Triple-A. For Yan, this doesn’t have to be a dead end. A 92nd-percentile fastball doesn’t just disappear. What he needs to sharpen — and everyone in Flushing knows it — is where that fastball goes when the moment gets real.
Yan’s 2026 Numbers at a Glance
- Games / IP: 13 G, 12.2 IP
- ERA: 5.68 · WHIP: 1.82
- Strikeouts vs. Walks: 17 K, 11 BB (27.4% K rate, 17.7% BB rate)
- xERA: 4.60
- Fastball: 97.7 mph avg · 2,479 rpm spin rate
- Whiff rate: 35.6% of swings missed
- Batting average against: .255
- Exit velocity allowed: 88.5 mph
- Barrel rate allowed: 6.1%
- Fastball velocity: 92nd percentile (elite)
- Fastball spin: 91st percentile (elite)
The radar guns love Jefry Yan. The walk column doesn’t — not yet. But the underlying numbers say the gap between who he is and who he can be isn’t as wide as a 5.68 ERA suggests.
