On Sunday afternoon, New York Mets pitcher Jordan Yamamoto and catcher Tomas Nido addressed the media for the first time this spring. During their conferences, both players emphasized that they’re excited to be back at camp and ready to kick off the 2021 season.

Heading into spring training, Yamamoto is fighting for a spot in the Mets’ rotation, and the right-hander said he has been working his butt off trying to show his new club that he wants to be here and is ready to roll.

“In years past, spring training rolls around and it’s kind of ‘hey let’s get ready, let’s use spring training as getting ready.’ But now it’s, ‘hey we’re ready to go, we’re ready to rumble, we’re here in New York, and we’re ready to go,’” Yamamoto said.

Yamamoto mentioned that he’s been particularly working on improving his changeup with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. He noted, “it’s been hard not really having a good changeup in the past, so he’s really been helping me out with trying to define it and make it a plus pitch.”

For Nido, the 2021 season offers a fresh slate after he missed most of the 2020 shortened season following a positive COVID-19 result. The 26-year-old backstop said he felt no lingering effects and is thankful he was able to go into the offseason healthy.

“There was a little bit of a delay trying to come back, but other than that, I’m very happy I’m healthy and was able to go into the offseason and prepare and be 100 percent this year,” Nido said.

Like last offseason, Nido has been working with Gradum baseball on his swing. One of the key points he hopes to focus on is being consistent and prepared at the plate.

“When I go out there I know I put in the work and I prepared for this, so I just go out there have fun, and help the team win,” Nido said.

Though it’s still early on in camp, Mets manager Luis Rojas said that he has really liked what he’s seen from both Nido and Yamamoto thus far.

“We always liked him from the other dugout, talking about his stuff and pitch ability,” Rojas said talking on Yamamoto. “As soon as we got him, we had a good conversation and he he was very aware of what he needed to get better at.”

While asked about Nido, Rojas mentioned, “right now, his talent is matching up with the experience. He’s slowing things down and he’s going to get a lot of opportunities in spring training.”

Both Yamamoto and Nido leaned heavily on the point that they are excited to be working with and learning from the veterans on this Mets roster, particularly newly acquired catcher James McCann and starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.

Nido added that he is really excited about this group, in his third year with the Mets.

“I think we have a real good thing going towards the season. This team is built to win, and there’s a lot of things to be excited about,” he said.