According to Daniel Wexler, the Mets intend to choose the contract of right-handed pitching prospect Blade Tidwell. He will be joining the club in St. Louis this weekend. The Mets’ starter on Sunday is currently unknown, but Mike Puma of the New York Post says that Tidwell will make the start.
Tidwell, 23, was the Mets’ second-round selection in the 2022 draft. The former University of Tennessee standout is presently regarded among New York’s top-15 prospects by Baseball America and MLB.com.
Tidwell, who stands 6’4″, is currently in his second season at Triple-A. He began the 2025 season with a 5.00 ERA but much more enticing rate stats: 31.6% strikeouts, 8.5% walks, 38% ground balls, and 0.67 HR/9. Tidwell’s four-seam fastball now averages 96 mph, up from 94.7 mph last year, and his swinging strike percentage has increased from 11.6% to 14.5%. Fielding-independent measures (3.17 FIP, 3.79 xFIP) indicate that Tidwell has performed significantly better than his earned run average, which is now skewed by a.369 average on balls in play.
Tidwell sailed through the minors before suffering in his first brief appearance in Double-A in 2023. He began the 2024 season in Double-A and cruised through opponents in his second outing before getting promoted to Triple-A midway through the season. He was hit harder and struggled with command throughout his 17 starts there last year. Even with a 5.00 ERA, this year’s rate data indicate that Tidwell is improving in his second season at Triple-A, just like he did in Double-A.
Tidwell’s initial call to the majors is expected to be a one-time occurrence. Despite an injury-ravaged rotation that has already seen Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, and Paul Blackburn go down, the Mets have five healthy starters in Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Tylor Megill, and Griffin Canning. Amazingly, all five have an ERA of 3.06 or less. No team in the league comes close to the Mets’ MLB-leading 2.24 rotation ERA.
The Mets currently have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make comparable movements on both the 26- and 40-man squads. Outfielder Jose Siri (fractured leg) and left-handed pitcher Danny Young (elbow sprain) are both 60-day IL candidates.
So the Mets do not absolutely need to designate someone for assignment to clear the way for Tidwell’s maiden big league promotion.
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