New York Mets Nolan McLean got through four innings of a simulated game on the backfields in Port St. Lucie on Wednesday after suffering vertigo-like symptoms that delayed him from joining Team USA ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
“It went pretty good,” he said after his outing. “Almost too loose at times, which I guess is a good thing. I was a little erratic, but I think it was just because I was fired up to get out there.”
The 24-year-old right-hander’s next point of business is to meet with team trainers to decide on whether or not he is good to go to join the Americans, who open the WBC in Houston against Brazil on Friday night. McLean is slated to pitch Tuesday’s Pool B finale against Italy and, if the US gets there, the championship game.
“It’s a great honor, but there’s a lot of baseball to be played,” McLean said. “My job is to go out there and compete. Just do the best I can and be a good teammate for the rest of the games, and hopefully, make the finals, and I get the ball.”
McLean is preparing for his first full season in the majors after a superb eight-start debut late last year, which featured a 5-1 record and a 2.06 ERA. He joins a four-man American rotation for the group stage that will begin with San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb, two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, and defending NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes. Fellow Mets teammate Clay Holmes is among the other starters who will be in the mix for multi-inning appearances throughout the tournament.
“I’m super excited to pick their brains. We got a bunch of Cy Youngs in that building, so it would be really cool to learn from them, see how they handle everything, and also watch from afar at the same time.”
