MIAMI — The Mets’ $365 million learning experience known as the 2026 season (now down to $360M thanks to the fortuitous loss of Luis Robert Jr. via the waiver wire) can be viewed as one big changeup. It’s the unhappy surprise no one saw coming. 

This season will, of course, ultimately be viewed as a failure. Yet, there are plenty of hints for better days ahead, the latest arriving from Syracuse and bringing his own patented Vulcan changeup and somewhat refined repertoire. 

Young Jonah Tong reentered the picture here at the Mets’ home away from home on Labor Day. He returned for a third big league cameo, still only 23 and still looking 18 but surely wiser from the lessons of his own uneasy road. 

Tong of course features his signature pitch, plus some more cutters and an occasional curveball. Better still, he showed real resilience, bringing more hope to a surprising second life after arguably the second-worst team money could buy played its way out of things early.