PORT ST. LUCIE — Despite how it might have appeared on camera, right-hander Freddy Peralta was pleased with his final spring training tuneup before his Opening Day start. The next time he takes the mound, it will be Thursday at Citi Field against Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Peralta pitched in a backfield game Friday with the Mets trying to avoid having him face the St. Louis Cardinals lineup. The Cards are the second team the Amazin’s will face during the regular season, so this means that even with a six-man rotation, the Mets intend to keep Peralta on regular rest.
“I felt really good, everything was working great,” Peralta said Friday at Clover Park. “Probably one of the best days that I’ve had when I talk about my stuff. So really, everything feels good.”
Peralta didn’t exactly appear to be happy while pitching on the backfield, but said he was able to locate his pitches and use all of them. By the end of his outing, he didn’t appear to be bothered.
He’ll now turn his focus to recovery before scouting the Pirates. Come Thursday, when he formally introduces himself to Mets fans, he’ll let himself feel some of the emotions of baseball’s most anticipated day before locking in to the game.
“It’s very exciting, but I try to keep myself, like, under control, because I know myself, and I just [need to] keep everything the same way that I did in the spring,” Peralta said. “I know the intensity of the game is going to be a little higher. You just control the game, control myself, work with the clock, and other than that, just control what I can control.”
Peralta is taking the same approach when it comes to a contract extension as well. Oftentimes, players don’t like negotiations once the season begins, setting a hard deadline of Opening Day for contract talks to end. Peralta doesn’t seem to have any sort of deadline though, and despite repeated “no-comments,” he has indicated that he would be open to an extension.
The 29-year-old is signed through the end of the season. The Mets traded right-handed starting pitching prospect Brandon Sproat and infield prospect Jett Williams for Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers in January. Myers was part of the return so the Mets could get a pitcher with team control in the event they lose Peralta after the season.
“I think the best way to answer this is to say what I’ve said before: No comments about it, and I’m just focusing on the season,” Peralta said. “I give my best every five days, and that’s all.”
Myers will be the long man out of the bullpen to start the season, but he’s expected to make spot starts when needed. He’s built up to throw 70-75 pitches, but threw only 27 Friday against the Cardinals after pitching earlier in the week. Having him pitch twice in four days with only a few innings each time was part of his planned progression. The Mets wanted to mimic how they might use him during the regular season.
The Mets have an idea of how they’d like to line up their starting rotation for the first series, but haven’t made any final decisions. Right-hander Kodai Senga will stay behind in Port St. Lucie to pitch in a backfield game before joining the team in New York, so he likely lines up to face the Cardinals as well.
Left-hander Sean Manaea will face right-hander Nolan McLean in an intrasquad exhibition game Monday, which lines them up to pitch against Pittsburgh in the opening series as well. McLean is likely to make his first start during Game 3, which could mean Manaea is lined up for the second game. Manager Carlos Mendoza would not confirm or deny Manaea in the second regular season game.
The next two days of camp will be mostly minor league pitchers, especially since the Mets have split-squad contests against the Houston Astros (home) and Washington Nationals (away) on Saturday.
As for the bullpen, the Mets optioned Austin Warren to Triple-A Syracuse, which leaves right-handers Bryan Hudson and Craig Kimbrel, and left-hander Richard Lovelady to compete for the final bullpen spot. The club could opt not to carry any of them, preferring to see who is available on waivers and who opts out of their contracts before setting their final 26-man roster.
Hudson had a rough day against St. Louis, giving up three earned runs on one hit, walking two and striking out one over one inning. He faced six batters, throwing 27 pitches.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Catcher Francisco Alvarez received treatment for his back tightness Friday morning, and is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday.