LaTroy Hawkins not bitter about departure from Mets
Colorado Rockies' LaTroy Hawkins, right, is congratulated by catcher Joran Pacheco after a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, April 28, 2014, in Phoenix. Credit: AP / Matt York
Rockies reliever LaTroy Hawkins harbors no ill will toward the Mets after the two sides parted ways during the offseason.
"I thought I had a good chance of being back in New York, I sure did,'' he said Thursday before facing the Mets, the only club to offer him a contract before the 2013 season. Hawkins swallowed his pride, signed the minor-league deal and pitched well enough with the Mets to earn a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.5 million from the Rockies.
"They were nothing but great to me,'' Hawkins, 41, said of the Mets, who did not match the offer.
In the offseason, general manager Sandy Alderson cited concerns about Hawkins' age as a reason for letting him depart via free agency, even after the righthander posted a 2.93 ERA and saved 13 games when closer Bobby Parnell went down with a neck injury.
The Mets' beleaguered bullpen could use Hawkins' reliability. Kyle Farnsworth is the Mets' third closer this season, taking over after Parnell went down with an elbow injury that required surgery and Jose Valverde flamed out as his replacement.
With the Rockies this season, Hawkins entered Thursday night 9-for-9 in save chances with a 2.38 ERA in 12 games.
Said manager Terry Collins: "What he did in that clubhouse with some of our young pitchers you can't replace.''
Extra basesThis week's Mets-Rockies series has the feel of a "Family Feud" in the Young household. Eric Young Jr. plays outfield for the Mets and Eric Young Sr. coaches first base for the Rockies . . . Josh Satin finished April hitting .158, but Collins brushed off speculation that Satin could be replaced on the roster. "He's done it,'' Collins said. "He has a track record here.''
