New Mets skipper Mickey Callaway did wonders with the Cleveland Indians pitching staff in his five years with the team. The Mets are hoping he can do the same here in Queens.
On Saturday, New York’s pitcher Steven Matz made an appearance at the grand opening of Bowlero Sayville, bowling a few frames in front of fans and said he was “excited” about Callaway joining the team.
Matz, 26, bowls right-handed and says he hasn’t picked up a baseball yet this offseason, but plans to in a few more weeks. He also added that he is feeling good.
The southpaw underwent successful surgery in August to reposition the ulnar nerve in his pitching elbow. This is the same surgery Jacob deGrom had in 2016 and returned to toss over 200 innings this year.
Callaway recently reached out to Matz, a notion he followed through on after saying he would talk to each player individually after being sworn in as manager on Oct. 23.
“I’m really excited about Mickey Callaway coming in,” Matz told Kenny DeJohn of Newsday. “He’s a real enthusiastic guy and seems to know pitching really well. He did a great job with Cleveland, and I’m really excited for him.”
It was a rough year for Matz and the pitching staff as a whole. In 13 starts, he pitched to a 2-7 record with a 6.08 ERA, 5.05 FIP and 1.530 WHIP.
“I don’t think there’s a magic potion,” Matz said. “I think sometimes you just run into some tough chance there with guys getting hurt. I think a lot of the time when guys go through that, they learn about themselves and you learn about what you have to do to take care of your body and arm while pitching. Maybe this will make us better in the end.”
The Mets team is built on pitching, so with Callaway at the helm, the idea is that this can once again be New York’s strength. Matz will be an important piece to the puzzle if the Mets want to compete again.
