Mets manager explains decision to pull Brandon Sproat early

Brandon Sproat was surprisingly pulled from Friday's game against Washington after throwing just 71 pitches through four innings.

Sep 19, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Brandon Sproat (40) follows through on a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Mets have leaned heavily on the young arms of Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat to provide much-needed stability to a rotation that has been a rollercoaster this season.

On Friday, Sproat made his third big-league start against the Washington Nationals. He breezed through the first two innings with six up and six down, but things unraveled quickly in the third. After issuing a leadoff walk to Paul DeJong, the 25-year-old misfired on a throw to first while fielding Jorge Alfaro's weak dribbler, allowing DeJong to come all the way around and score.

Washington went on to tack three more runs in the inning, first on a two-out RBI double by CJ Abrams, then on consecutive defensive lapses by Jose Siri that the Nationals converted into two additional runs. Sproat threw 32 pitches in the third before finally getting Luis García Jr. to ground out and end the frame.

Sproat rebounded with a one-two-three fourth inning, while the Mets got all those runs back and more in the bottom half. Nonetheless, that taxing third inning cut Sproat's night short as Huascar Brazobán came out of the bullpen to pitch the fifth.

Why Carlos Mendoza Pulled Sproat

"The third inning, he lost it a little bit," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "Watching those lefties in that third inning after Wood, Abrams, all the lefties, there was some hard contact from them so I wasn't going to take any chances there."

"I wasn't going to take any chances there"

Carlos Mendoza talks about what he saw from Brandon Sproat and the decision to remove Sproat after four innings: pic.twitter.com/t8H6Tw3Gl0

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 20, 2025

Every game is pivotal now for the Mets, and Mendoza made clear that urgency is influencing his decisions on how long starters stay in games.

"I like what I saw. Even though he only gave us four, I was aggressive with him," Mendoza continued. "I thought he could have kept going, but where we're at every game, I'm going to be aggressive when we need to."

Read More: What Carlos Mendoza must do in the Mets’ final 10 games

New York's starting pitching length has been a lingering question for some time now. While Nolan McLean has pitched at least five innings in all six of his big league starts, the rest of the rotation has been far less consistent. Sproat's early exit on Friday only adds to those concerns.

New York adopted a piggyback approach earlier in the week: in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres, Clay Holmes pitched the first four innings before Sean Manaea covered the final five. Whether Mendoza's decision then and on Friday signals shorter length for starters, the possibility appears very much in play.

Before Thursday's series finale against San Diego, Mendoza also cast doubt on Kodai Senga's postseason role.

"I wouldn't say definitely," Mendoza said when asked if Senga was assured a spot on the October roster should the Mets make the postseason. "We'll have the conversations and we'll take the best 13 guys."

Carlos Mendoza is asked if Kodai Senga will "definitely" be part of the Mets' possible postseason pitching staff if he continues to have success in Triple-A:

"I wouldn't say definitely. We'll have the conversations and we'll take the best 13 guys" pic.twitter.com/blND2HZ5ee

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 18, 2025

For the Mets, the path forward is simple: keep winning. With little margin for error, every inning matters, and Mendoza has shown little hesitation to pull starters early or mix and match roles if it means putting the best arms possible on the mound.