Rick Porcello arrived at Port St. Lucie this week prior to the official reporting date for all pitchers and catchers next week and is excited for his new beginning with the team he rooted for when he was younger.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s a dream come true for me,” Porcello told reporters (via SNY). “I grew up a Mets fan, so it’s as good as it gets when you think about your opportunities. Growing up as a kid, this was always something I wanted to do, and now it’s become a reality.”
At the Winter Meetings in December, the Mets signed Porcello to a one-year, $10 million contract so that he could effectively replace Zack Wheeler in the rotation.
The 31-year-old had spent each of the past five seasons with the Boston Red Sox, winning an American League Cy Young Award and a World Series with them.
However, the New Jersey native was nothing close to his best self in 2019 as he registered a 5.52 ERA, 4.76 FIP, and 1.394 WHIP with 7.4 K/9 as compared to 2.3 BB/9.
While Boston finished the season with an 84-78 record, which was only two games worse than the Mets’ 86-76 record, the Red Sox were 12 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the second AL Wild Card spot.
Porcello is eager to get back to the playoffs after being only one season removed from the World Series and believes that the Mets give him a great chance of getting there.
“The biggest reason why I wanted to come here is we’ve got a great chance to win,” Porcello said. “When you look at Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard and the rest of the arms we have in the rotation and in the bullpen, it’s a great foundation for a team. Then when you look at Pete Alonso and the great offensive weapons that we have and great defense, we have the makings of a great ballclub but now we just have to put the work in and go do it.”
Many of the team’s players are already in Florida ready to get started and it appears Porcello is among those optimistic about the 2020 roster.
