Lyons moved one big step down the catching depth chart when the Mets traded for the Montreal Expos' superstar catcher, Gary Carter, before the season. Lyons spent most of the Mets' 1986 championship season playing for the AAA Tidewater Tides but was brought up to the majors early on. Fellow Tidewater catcher Ed Hearn was also brought up early in 1986 and hit well, pushing Lyons down to third-string. Consequently, Lyons only managed to play in six games including two starts – all before July – and never got a hit for the eventual World Champions. Despite his lack of playing time, Lyons and a few other rarely used players on that 1986 Mets team eventually received belated World Series rings in 1995, nine years after the series.