Tyler Yates, 26, has an outside shot at the fifth spot in the Mets’ rotation.
“Yates has four quality pitches and he’s at the starting line right now to be a pitcher in the big leagues in my mind,” pitching coach Rick Peterson said. “Of the six people competing for the No.5 job, he’s a great candidate.” Scott Erickson’s poor showing in an intrasquad outing yesterday won’t hurt Yates’ chances, but he’s still considered a longshot who must have a fantastic spring to make the club.