Photo by Ed Delany, MMO
On Thursday, New York Mets bullpen star Seth Lugo pitched a simulated game in Port St. Lucie. Per Mike Puma of the NY Post, the Mets gave Lugo the option of pitching in Thursday’s Grapefruit League road game against the Cardinals, but the reliever chose to stay behind at the team facility to face hitters rather than making the trip to Jupiter. He threw 29 pitches against minor leaguers including Mets top prospect Ronny Mauricio.
After the sim game, Lugo said he felt well with no lingering effects from the pinkie toe injury suffered early on during camp. The team has not discussed a role for him, but Lugo seemed to take it all in stride. He did object to the idea of being an opener for pitchers like Steven Matz or Michael Wacha telling Michael DiComo of MLB.com, “I don’t think an opener belongs in baseball. Starters are starters. I’m old-school.”
It is likely that Lugo will make his spring debut in a game in the next few days, but again nothing is definitive.
Lugo is coming off an impressive 2019 season where he went 7-4 with a 2.70 ERA (2.70 FIP) and a 0.90 WHIP. He struck out 104 and walked only 16. He was the Mets most dependable pitcher out of the pen and even notched six saves owing to the difficulties of Edwin Diaz.
His one knock was that he needed a fair amount of time off between appearances. It will be interesting to see how new Mets manager, Luis Rojas, uses Lugo for the 2020 season and beyond.
