Collins Has Plan For Trying To Keep Mets Pitchers Healthy
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBSNewYork) -- Maybe this will be the year that Mets fans finally see all five of their talented starting pitchers in the rotation at once.
As pitchers and catchers begin to get ready for the season, Mets manager Terry Collins said he's enjoying watching Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler together at last.
"You already see them feeding off one another," Collins told reporters. "Those five guys already, they're great. They're sitting there with lockers next to each other, and they're already excited about the fact that there's going to be a little competition between them, and rightly so.
"Whatever happens happens. But like I said, you keep those guys healthy, and you run them out there as much as we hope we can, they're going to get people out and we're going to win baseball games."
Health, of course, is the buzzword when it comes to the Mets' arms. In fact, when Collins was asked if he remembered when he last saw all his starters together, he joked, "Dr. Altchek's office, I think."
Of the five, only Syndergaard escaped finishing the season on the disabled list -- and even he battled bone spurs in his elbow.
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Harvey underwent surgery in July for thoracic outlet syndrome, which causes pain in the shoulders and neck and numbness in the fingers. DeGrom missed the final month of the season with an elbow injury. Matz made just 22 starts due to bone spurs in his elbow and shoulder pain. And Wheeler hasn't pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2015.
Collins said he hopes limiting the Mets' pitchers early in spring training will help ensure they survive the season.
"A lot of it has to do with the fact that perhaps we throw too much too early," he said. "We're not going to do that this year. You'll see tomorrow -- there'll be no throwing during the drills. (Pitching coach) Dan (Warthen) and I sat down, and we kind of figured out that early in camp maybe we can save a hundred throws a day by not having them throw during drills. ... The wear-and-tear on their arm will be a little less early in camp. Now as we get into the middle of camp, all of a sudden we can ramp things up a little bit more."
Wheeler is quite familiar with Port St. Lucie, the Mets' spring training home. He has spent the better part of two years there dealing with injuries and setbacks.
"It hasn't been fun, I'll tell you that," Wheeler said. "Down here, watching these guys play on TV every day and go to the playoffs and stuff like that, that's what I want to do also."
The experience has made it difficult for Wheeler to be optimistic about returning to his promising form, CBS2's Otis Livingston reported.
"I'm not getting my hopes up one second," he said. "I hope I'm good. I hope I'm ready. I've done everything that I could, and like I said, I want to get back out there and pitch and just be healthy."
There has been some talk that Wheeler could end up in the bullpen. Collins said the Mets are preparing Wheeler as though he will be a starter, but the manager is not ruling out that the 26-year-old right-hander could be used in relief.
"We aren't sure how many innings he's going to be able to pitch," Collins said. "So do you burn those innings early, or do you burn those innings late? And that's certainly a discussion we will have as we go through spring training.
"We do not want to get caught up in a situation where all of a sudden Aug. 1 we need to shut this guy down."
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The fifth spot in the rotation will either go to Wheeler, Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman, Collins said.
Meanwhile, Collins said he again sees "the fire" from Harvey.
Before he went on the DL, Harvey was battling through a miserable season -- 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA. Collins said Harvey is determined to put that performance behind him.
"He wants to be back on top," Collins said. "You know this guy. This guy likes to be the No. 1. And I know he'll do whatever he has to to get back there."
The talented hurlers say they're looking forward to seeing what all five starters can do over a full season.
"Defintely excited," deGrom said. "I think that's the main thing and everybody's goal is to stay healthy and be able to go out there on the field and compete."
"It would be awesome. It'd be real exciting," Matz said. "Just to get to watch each one of these guys pitch every fifth day is exciting."
"Yesterday, walking in for the first time and seeing the five of us have a locker lined up like that, it's exciting," Harvey added. "I think it's motivation to stay healthy."
NO FAMILIA: The only pitcher who had yet to arrive at Mets camp Monday was closer Jeurys Familia. He had a visa issue.
