Sometimes success is as simple as being in the right place at the right time, and being prepared for it.
That’s the realization Tobias Myers had with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024. It was his sixth organization since his draft year, 2016. The right-hander had been traded three times and claimed off waivers once before signing a minor league contract with the Brewers.
By the time he got to Milwaukee, he was ready to take advantage of the opportunity in front of him. Getting to that point required as much growth and maturity as it did talent.
“The 2022 season where I bounced around two or three different organizations, I was really young,” Myers recently told the Daily News. “My first time on a 40-man [roster] and I think I just maybe I didn’t have the right guidance in my circle. I don’t know, I just kind of took everything way too serious. I tried way too hard to be perfect that year.”
Now with the Mets, the seventh organization of his career, he’s being counted on to provide length out of the bullpen and potentially to make some starts as well. The veteran rotation has plenty of question marks at the moment, especially when it comes to left-hander Sean Manaea and right-hander Kodai Senga. Both were prone to short, inefficient outings last season after returning from injuries, which necessitated an innings-eater out of the bullpen.
Acquired in the Freddy Peralta trade, Myers came into camp with no expectations before quickly realizing how much the club values him. Early on in spring, the Mets made it known that they intended to include him on the Opening Day roster.
“If he’s healthy, he’s on the team,” Mendoza said early in February.
It was surreal for Myers to hear that.
“They still haven’t told me that, but it’s really awesome,” Myers said. “It’s really cool, honestly and mentally in spring, it helps. I can kind of work on things now that I know that I want to be in a certain spot in the season. But at the same time, it doesn’t really change much. Like, I’m not going to take hold back in camp and take it easy or anything.”
Myers didn’t get here by taking it easy. Drafted at only 17, his career seemed to be progressing until 2022. That was the year he spent time with the Cleveland, San Francisco and the Chicago White Sox organizations and finished the season with an ERA of nearly 9.00. His stuff was still good, but his desire to impress each new team left him further and further away from the pitcher he thought he was.
“I was trying to do everything I could to look perfect for a new organization,” Myers said. “I was changing a few things, and just kind of got away from myself. I think when I got to Milwaukee, they kind of opened doors to say, ‘Just be yourself. We’re not going to give you anything, just be yourself.’ That definitely cleared up a lot mentally and on the field.”
It’s a similar sentiment to the one he’s found with the Mets. Myers expected this since Stearns was still in Milwaukee when he signed with the Brewers shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 season. They saw the stuff that was needed to get major league hitters out, and they wanted him to see it as well.
There were some minor adjustments made in Milwaukee. Myers added a slider to give him another weapon against right-handed hitters, and he used his splitter more often with the Brewers than in the past, a pitch that looks more like a changeup. He also started pitching primarily out of the stretch which helped clean up some of his mechanics.
While never a particularly hard thrower, Myers throws a lot of strikes, which is why the Mets think he can also pitch in high-leverage innings if needed.
There was no major moment where he realized he had to make a change, or even one major change he had to make that led to a big league call-up in 2024. Myers was only 17 when he was drafted. He had to learn that pitching isn’t about perfection, but it is about precision.
This last trade was more unexpected than the others. The Mets were giving up two major league-ready prospects to get Peralta. It was a big haul for a rental, so they felt they needed a pitcher who was still under team control in return. Having seen Myers pitch against them in the 2024 NL Wild Card series, they liked what they saw, and they liked that he still had an option year left.
Now 27 with a 3.15 ERA in 49 major league games, Myers isn’t waiting around for an opportunity, he’s making the most of the ones he’s given.
“If you just put your head down and do what you’ve done for the most part, and try not to let everything else around you get in your head, success can come,” Myers said. “And it can come quick.”