Mets Ask Pedro Feliciano To Start Season At Triple-A
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — The Mets have asked left-handed reliever Pedro Feliciano to start the season at Triple-A to build arm strength.
New York brass informed Feliciano on Monday that he won't make the Opening Day roster. The Mets want Feliciano to spend a month in the minors working on his velocity.
Feliciano missed the last two seasons with the Yankees while dealing with shoulder injuries. He's spent eight years with the Mets, logging a franchise-record 92 relief appearances in 2010.
He said his "velocity is a little down," but he feels ready and will consider opting out of his minor-league contract.
"I think to get a lefty out you don't have to throw hard," Feliciano said. "Just throw strikes consistently. But we're going to see what's going to happen in a couple days."
The 36-year-old has given up one run in 4 1/3 innings over eight appearances this spring.
His spring was briefly interrupted briefly when an irregular heartbeat was discovered during his physical. He was wearing a heart monitor while pitching until about a week ago.
"I think just to be here and throw strikes and get lefties was going to open some eyes, but they decided different than I was expecting," he said.
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