PORT ST. LUCIE — Christian Scott has been as visible as anybody in the Mets clubhouse this spring, but it’s something of a mirage.
Six months into his rehab from Tommy John surgery, the right-hander started throwing every other day beginning last week. His season will consist of further rehab, both at the spring training complex and in New York, with the hope of cracking the 2026 rotation as his focus.
It could be a crowded scene. The Mets have a wave of young pitching on the rise that includes names such as Brandon Sproat, Blade Tidwell, Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. Such a proposition excites the 25-year-old Scott, knowing he will have to earn his place.
“I think a lot of us are just super competitors,” Scott said. “We go out there and we’re trying to win the game any way possible, so we do a great job bouncing ideas off each other.
“We talked about it early this season, we talked about it with each other, we’re all pulling the same rope, right? We’re all competing with each other. We’re all trying to win a World Series in New York, so we’re all trying to pull the same rope and get each other better at the same time. I think that’s been true throughout the whole organization since I got here.”
Scott got the team’s attention in spring training last year.
The Mets broke camp without him, but with the rotation in need of a jolt in May, he was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse and dazzled in his major league debut, allowing one earned run over 6 ²/₃ innings against the Rays.
His first stint with the Mets lasted five starts, in which he pitched to a 3.90 ERA. But with the club in need of a roster spot following David Peterson’s return, he was optioned back to Syracuse on May 31.
Scott received four additional starts in July but began to feel discomfort in his elbow. The previous year a tear had been detected in the ulnar collateral ligament, but Scott largely managed to pitch through it.
When rehab didn’t work following last season’s discomfort, he opted for the surgery.
The wave of young pitching to which Scott belongs is largely a familiar scene to him: He was teammates with Sproat at the University of Florida; competed against Tidwell, a former Tennessee standout, in the SEC; and has gotten to know the 21-year-old Tong through their shared agents.
The Gators rotation consisted of Tommy Mace (Guardians), Jack Leftwich (Guardians) and Hunter Barco (Pirates).
“Me and Sproat were on the outside looking in when we were there,” Scott said. “We were in the bullpen. We were able to learn a little bit about our bodies there, too — where we could take it. You get your body ready to start, but your body also could be ready to relieve. I learned both aspects of those.”
Scott, who arrived to the Mets in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, spent his early days in the minors shuffling between starting and relieving. His breakout came as a full-time starter in 2023, when he pitched to a 2.57 ERA over three levels.
What was Scott’s biggest takeaway from his rookie season?
“Don’t let the highs get you too high,” he said. “Don’t let the lows get you too low. It’s a long season. Just be super consistent with the day to day.”
He will spend what’s left of spring training continuing to absorb whatever he can from the veteran starting pitchers in camp and then be a spectator to a team that is expected to compete for the World Series.
“Even though I can’t be out there, I will be the best teammate I possibly can,” Scott said. “I’ll try to pick people’s brains, and if they need me to bounce ideas off, whatever it takes to help us win a game this year. I know I can’t do that on the field, but if I could do that off the field, anyway I can, that would be great.”
