Kranick makes Mets' Wild Card Series roster in Megill's place

MILWAUKEE -- Among those players on the Mets’ Wild Card Series roster is one who didn't appear in a game for them all season.

Pitcher Max Kranick made the roster as a replacement for Tylor Megill, who threw 100 pitches against the Braves on Monday and wouldn’t have been rested enough to pitch until late this week. It's a full-circle moment for Kranick, a childhood Mets fan who routinely made the trip from his eastern Pennsylvania home to Shea Stadium.

“It’s wild,” Kranick said. “It really hasn’t set in yet. But I’m sure it will when we’re in between the lines.”

An offseason waiver claim from the Pirates, Kranick entered Spring Training with a chance to make the Opening Day roster, but he strained his left hamstring early in camp, missed the cut as a result and spent the summer at Triple-A Syracuse, where he converted to relief work. By the end of the year, Kranick was routinely throwing in the upper 90s, topping out at 98 mph. He joined the Mets in Atlanta this week but, unlike Megill, went unused in Monday’s doubleheader.

“We’ve been watching him closely, the way he’s been throwing the baseball the past few months,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Especially when we put him out of the bullpen, velo went up. He’s throwing strikes. … There’s a lot to like there.”

Megill will be a consideration to return to the roster if the Mets advance to the National League Division Series.

The rest of the 26-man roster contained no surprises:

Catchers (2): Francisco Alvarez, Luis Torrens

Infielders (5): Pete Alonso, Jose Iglesias, Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuña

Outfielders (5): Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, Starling Marte, Harrison Bader, Jesse Winker

DH (1): J.D. Martinez

Starting pitchers (4): Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, David Peterson

Relief pitchers (9): Edwin Díaz, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Danny Young, Huascar Brazobán, Adam Ottavino, Reed Garrett, José Buttó, Max Kranick