The New York Mets continue to round into form with less than a month away from the start of the regular season. The battles for rotation spots and places in the bullpen and the bench are more intense than ever, and there is a highly competitive setting in training camp and spring games.
Two relievers that, if healthy, will have theis spots safe in the roster are Seth Lugo and Dellin Betances. The former was one of the National League’s best relievers last season – to be fair, he has been elite for several years – and the latter is eager to show he is healthy and can be an option from day one after tearing his Achilles in September.
The New York Mets haven’t yet offered a timetable to return when it comes to the pair of stellar hurlers. Lugo fractured his left pinkie toe in a hotel accident a couple of weeks ago. That incident resulted in several days lost, but he has been throwing from a mound for a while and could return any day now. His status for opening day isn’t in danger, at least not yet.
The Mets are taking it easy with both relievers
The idea is for Lugo to appear in Grapefruit League games this week, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
He threw a round of live batting practice on Sunday. Rehabbing slugger Yoenis Cespedes belted two home runs off him.
“The second one where he fell down, he just got it in the wind. The first one, that was a good swing, but I wouldn’t pitch him like that in a real game, so I knew what I was getting into,” Lugo said.
Betances, meanwhile, threw his own round of live batting practice on Friday. The Mets are taking baby steps with him given the nature of his injury.
However, the expectation is that Betances is ready and available for opening day. The tear he suffered was partial, which helped the healing process quite a bit. He was one of the most dominant relievers in all baseball since 2014, but only threw an inning last season because of a myriad of ailments.