Carlos Carrasco said,. “Just stay heathy, go out there every...

Carlos Carrasco said,. “Just stay heathy, go out there every five days and give it my best” on Thursday, March 2, 2023. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Carlos Carrasco’s goal this season is simple: Stay healthy. If that happens, he believes, everything else will be fine.

In that sense, Carrasco is representative of the Mets’ rotation as a whole. The group has potential as great as any in the majors if it stays together. But Justin Verlander (40 years old), Max Scherzer (38) and Carrasco (36 this month) are old for pitchers, and rookie Kodai Senga is a relative unknown after years of excellence in Japan. Jose Quintana, 34, has a track record of durability.

Avoiding injuries will be key, for Carrasco and for the collection of arms. “That’s the most important,” he said. “Just stay heathy, go out there every five days and give it my best.”

Carrasco largely did that last season, totaling 152 innings — well above what he threw in the previous two years combined — across 29 starts. This is his last year under contract, but he has no designs on calling it a career anytime soon.

“I want to do this till my body says you’re done,” he said. “I don’t want to quit. I want to continue to pitch . . . I’m not done yet.”

Carrasco allowed two runs in two innings in his first Grapefruit League start on Thursday, a 6-2 loss to Atlanta. He said he felt rushed by the pitch clock but later learned he had more time than he realized, so he is confident that he will figure it out in his next outings.

Extra bases

The Mets satisfied Venezuela’s pre-WBC request by having Eduardo Escobar play leftfield — for two innings. He did not field any balls. “He’s taking this very seriously,” Buck Showalter said . . . During his two-day stop at camp, David Wright wound up chatting with Verlander, his fellow 40-year-old, a Virginia contemporary and a frequent youth baseball opponent. “He still looks good, man,” Wright said. “Apparently he makes 40 look better than I do. So maybe I am old.” . . . Wright on advice to Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and other WBC first-timers: “Do well. Don’t embarrass the country.” . . . SNY said its broadcasts last weekend drew a combined 169,000 viewers, its largest ever for a two-game span in spring training. They were the second- and fourth-most-seen out of 179 . . . The Mets’ talent show, a Showalter spring training tradition, will be held Friday morning.

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