Jonah Tongs return to Mets comes with new arsenal, boatload of experience in hope of better results
Christopher Morel was facing the other direction, which did not stop Jonah Tong from coming up behind him and hugging him.Continuing his way around the room, Tong tapped Juan Soto on the shoulder, and Soto grinned as the two embraced.
Sean Manaea got his own big hug and then left the clubhouse chatting with the outgoing pupil he grew close to last year.Tong is back in the major leagues, his arrival in Queens on Sunday providing some life and plenty of smiles to a team that is as fond of the young right-hander as the team’s fanbase.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.
In terms of staying in the major leagues, Tong’s audition begins — and will not end — Monday in Miami.The Mets will give a prolonged chance to a top prospect who has followed a rocket-ship 2025 with a roller-coaster 2026.“There’s so many things that we have control over in our career, and sometimes there’s just lessons that need to be learned,” Tong said Sunday morning before the Mets’ 4-2 win over the Giants, “and I’m just really excited to see the person that I’ve become out of it.”As a person, the now 23-year-old has not withered under various unflattering spotlights.
He soared his way to the majors last season before he probably was ready and then struggled (7.71 ERA) in five games for a club that finished a win shy of the postseason.He returned this spring juggling pitching projects that also were not ready, as evidenced by a 6.00 ERA with Triple-A Syracuse as late as July 9.
Mixed in there were a couple shots with the big league Mets in late May and early June, which ended with a 3 ¹/₃-inning, five-run dud in Seattle that underscored that he would not be the player who saved the 2026 Mets.If he demonstrated last year that he can handle success, Tong — who said he now is a “better person” — is now attempting to demonstrate he can handle failure.“I’m the s...