Why Mets are sending Jonah Tong back down to Triple-A despite 3.60 ERA

The New York Mets have been struggling this season, with a 26-35 record on the year, and so far in June, they've gone 0-2 against the Seattle Mariners.

Following Tuesday night's loss, along with the Mets using 10 pitchers the last two days, the Mets have decided to make a roster move to shake up their pitching staff.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Mets are optioning 3.60 ERA top pitching prospect Jonah Tong back to the minor leagues to help "refresh" their heavily taxed bullpen.

Why the Mets optioned Jonah Tong to Triple-A

"Needing to help reduce some of the workload of their bullpen, the New York Mets are optioning right-hander Jonah Tong to Triple-A on Wednesday for a fresh pitcher, league sources told The Athletic," Sammon reports.

The corresponding move isn't known just yet, but the Mets are sending Tong down to the minor leagues as part of a roster move to refresh their bullpen.

Even though Tong was having a better stint in the Majors this year than he did last season, when he had a 7.71 ERA in five outings, the Mets need some help in the bullpen right now.

On Monday against the Mariners, the Mets used six pitchers, with Sean Manaea going five innings, Austin Warren and Devin Williams one inning each, Brooks Raley 0.2 innings, Luke Weaver 1.1 innings, and A.J. Minter 0.1 innings.

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Tuesday saw Huascar Brazoban go 1.2 innings, Tong 3.1 innings, Cionel Perez 2.0 innings, and Minter 1.0 innings.

While the Mets will have some of their bullpen good to go for Wednesday's game, they want to avoid taxing their relievers too heavily.

With Tong not slated to pitch for some time after his Tuesday outing, it makes sense to option him to the minor leagues, call up a reliever, and then consider bringing Tong back up a bit later for a future start.

Seeing Tong sent down is a little strange, considering he's been much better in the Majors this season than he was last year. But the faltering Mets need some bullpen help, and Tong would've provided that for the next few days during a season that's slipping away.

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