Kids ride the subway half-price.
The Mets purchased two such fares on Tuesday, when Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom arrived from Triple-A Las Vegas to help bolster the rotation and bullpen, respectively.
Montero officially will be added to the roster on Wednesday, when he gets the start against the Yankees at Citi Field. DeGrom was available to pitch in relief on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
Montero will be making his second appearance at Citi Field — he pitched there in the Futures Game last July, leading into the All-Star Game. He said facing the Yankees in his major league debut won’t bring added pressure.
“For me it’s just special that it’s my first start,” the 23-year-old Montero said.
But a Dominican pitcher who carries the nickname “Little Pedro” — Montero’s slight frame and bulldog approach are reminders of Pedro Martinez — probably doesn’t get rattled too easily.
In eight starts for Las Vegas this season, Montero was 4-1 with a 3.67 ERA and surrendered just three homers in a Pacific Coast League known for its ridiculous offensive numbers.
The Mets saw enough of Montero in spring training each of the past two seasons to understand what he is about.
“He’s got great command, and more importantly he understands the pitching aspect of baseball,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. “He’s a pretty calm, laid-back guy, so he should be OK.”
Montero has impressed manager Terry Collins with his maturity.
“He knows when to pitch inside, he’s not afraid to pitch inside and he’s a strike-thrower with all his stuff,” Collins said. “It may not be Matt Harvey stuff, but he can pitch and he knows how to use all his stuff.
“He’s just got a knack for it. The Dominican players nicknamed him ‘Little Pedro’ because he’s got a feel for it. That is a big statement. I don’t think he’s going to be intimidated.”
Montero’s addition to the rotation has allowed the Mets to move Jenrry Mejia into a relief role. Mejia’s season debut in the bullpen came Monday, when he pitched 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings and was the winning pitcher in the Mets’ 9-7 victory over the Yankees.
The Mets hope the 25-year-old deGrom can be the second piece of that revamped bullpen. Though deGrom received a look in spring training as a reliever, he hasn’t pitched steadily in relief since college, when he would switch from shortstop to pitching.
In seven starts for Las Vegas this season, he was 4-0 with a 2.58 ERA.
“I was locating the ball really well, down, and my two-seamer was pretty good,” deGrom said. “I was getting a lot of groundballs.”
The organization’s top pitching prospect, Noah Syndergaard, remains at Triple-A, but Collins said the fact Montero and deGrom are major leaguers in May indicates the Mets are committed to winning this season.
“We’ve been ridiculed at times because we’re worried about Super 2s and worried about things down the road,” Collins said. “We’re worried about winning.
“If that means we’ve got to bring up a young player that people think we might bring up late in the summer, that we’ve got to bring them up now to help, that should tell you that we’re going to try to win and those are the guys we think we can win with.”