Mets to put haul of prospects acquired at last trade deadline in Spring Breakout
Outfielder Drew Gilbert will be one of the Mets prospects in the Spring Breakout event against Nationals at 3 p.m Friday. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets will put on display — and on TV — the haul of prospects they picked up during their trade-deadline sell-off last summer.
Those players and others will face a team of Nationals prospects as part of an MLB-wide event, dubbed “Spring Breakout,” meant to spotlight the next generation of talent.
Highlighting the Mets’ roster, released Thursday: outfielder Drew Gilbert and first baseman/outfielder Ryan Clifford (acquired in the Justin Verlander trade), infielder Luisangel Acuna (Max Scherzer), infielder Marco Vargas and catcher Ronald Hernandez (David Robertson), and shortstop Jeremy Rodriguez (Tommy Pham).
Shortstop/centerfielder Jett Williams, their top prospect, and shortstop Colin Houck, their first-round draft pick last year, also are on the squad.
The game is at 3 p.m. next Friday and will air on SNY as the first half of a doubleheader (with a Mets-Nats major-league exhibition serving as the nightcap).
Lucchesi ‘behind’
Joey Lucchesi has not pitched in a Grapefruit League game yet, in part because he reported to spring training last month less ready than most of the other starting pitchers, manager Carlos Mendoza said.
“The reason is when he showed up, he was a little bit behind,” he said. “So we needed to build him up. That’s all [there is] to it.”
Why was Lucchesi behind?
“Just part of his offseason program, I guess,” Mendoza said. “Some guys take longer. But nothing physically, knock on wood. He’s good.”
Ostensibly a candidate for the Mets’ last spot in the rotation, Lucchesi was scheduled to debut Wednesday, but the game got rained out. He tossed an inning in a minor-league game on Thursday instead.
Debut day for Fujinami
In his first Grapefruit appearance, Shintaro Fujinami tossed a perfect inning in a 3-1 win over the Nationals on Thursday. His velocity was well below his usual upper-90s heat, but he said he could have thrown harder “if I tried.” He expects that to come naturally as he gets into more games.
“I feel relieved. Finally, I got to pitch,” Fujinami, who didn’t love his splitter, said through an interpreter. “Obviously, it’s not the best outing, but I felt good overall.”
McNeil feeling better
Jeff McNeil is scheduled to resume hitting activities Saturday, Mendoza said, now that the soreness in his left biceps has subsided. “Another good day not feeling anything,” Mendoza said, “but we want to make sure we take care of this.”
Alvarez’s big night
Francisco Alvarez threw out three runners who were trying to steal second base, then hit a 408-foot homer over the leftfield party deck at Clover Park.
Two of those caught stealings came with Adam Ottavino on the mound. Ottavino has had trouble controlling the running game, particularly last year, and reworked his pickoff move and tweaked his delivery in an attempt to slow base-stealers.
“Really good night, especially behind the plate,” Mendoza said. “I think Adam [has] a lot to do here — him being quicker to the plate is something that he worked on all offseason and has been a point of emphasis here in camp for the whole pitching staff, controlling the running game. The fact that he gave Alvy a chance to throw two guys out was good to see.
“And, obviously, that swing for the two-run homer — overall a really good game for Alvy.”
Extra bases
Joey Wendle went 0-for-2 with two lineouts and played five innings at second base in his Grapefruit debut . . . Jose Quintana struck out six and allowed an unearned run in three innings . . . On Mets players’ to-do list Thursday afternoon: a meet-and-greet with employees from Steve Cohen’s hedge fund.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
