What Mets Zach Thornton will bring to table in…
WASHINGTON — Zach Thornton’s comparatively slender body for a pitcher would possibly benefit him.
Listed at 6-foot-3, 170 kilos, the left-hander — who will pitch for the Mets on Wednesday in his major league debut (either as the starter or behind an opener) — credit that construct for his method on the mound.
“I’m not the biggest guy in the world,” Thornton said Tuesday at Nationals Park.
“Everything you do is for the people who said, ‘He couldn’t do it.’ And the people who said, ‘He could.’ ”
Thornton, who has endeared himself to Mets officers in half because of his means to throw strikes, is receiving the first shot at filling the emptiness created by Clay Holmes’ fractured proper fibula. Holmes was injured Friday when the Yankees’ Spencer Jones hit a line drive off his leg.
In seven minor league begins this season he has pitched to a 3.16 ERA. Thornton appeared twice for the group in the Grapefruit League and left a optimistic impression on supervisor Carlos Mendoza.
Zach Thornton throws a pitch during the Mets’ spring training loss to the Marlins on March 6, 2026 in Port St. Lucie. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“I treat every game the same: I want to go out and compete,” Thornton said. “I am the ultimate competitor, a strike thrower.”
Thornton was chosen over Jack Wenninger and Jonah Tong at Syracuse. The Mets also have potential beginning choices in the bullpen in Tobias Myers and Sean Manaea.
Mendoza was requested if Nick Morabito’s promotion to the major leagues (becoming a member of fellow rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing in the outfield) means Juan Soto will be relegated principally to DH.
“[Soto] is our left fielder, but hopefully we get some of the other guys from the injury list and those guys are going to need some DH appearances and Juan is going to be playing a lot of left field,” Mendoza said. “So right now while we can we will just use those [DH for Soto] days as much as possible.”
Entering play the Mets had participated in 10 extra-inning video games this season, the most in the major leagues.
They had received six of those video games, also the most in MLB. The most current was their 16-7 victory over the Nationals in 12 innings Monday.
The Mets set a franchise report with 10 runs in an extra-inning body. It was tied for fourth highest in major league historical past.
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