Mets' Luis Rojas starts busy day with early workout
Mets manager Luis Rojas during a spring training workout on Wednesday at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — On the day of his players’ first formal workout under his watch, Luis Rojas beat them to it.
As part of his new gig as Mets manager, different from his previous spring training routines as a coach or minor-league manager, Rojas is a particularly busy man. Thus, he arrived at the Mets’ Clover Park facility at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday — five hours before the pitchers and catchers took the field.
Why?
“Well, one of the things I have to adjust [on] is working out,” Rojas, perhaps the fittest manager in the majors, said with a laugh. “I'm going to start my days like that. It's kind of like a routine of my own. Get my workout in and kind of progress into my day. So I got in today at 5:30 and the guys reported later than that but most of the staff is here early and they have the same approach.”
Once the real workout — the usual: warmups, bullpen sessions, pitchers fielding practice, etc. — happened, Rojas was satisfied. He called it “a big step that we wanted to take” and “a big day that we were anticipating.”
“It worked out great today,” he said. “The timing was good, the energy was great and like I said, I got to give credit to the coaching staff. They kept things active and I'm getting really good feedback from things that happen out there.”
Extra bases
Mets infielder Luis Guillorme gets medical attention after getting hit with a ball during a spring training workout on Wednesday at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Infielder Luis Guillorme got hit in the face — drawing blood — with an errant throw during infield practice. He was fine, however, and even took batting practice afterward, Rojas said . . . Rojas also said he does not know when reliever Drew Smith, who has been throwing bullpen sessions for a couple of weeks after Tommy John surgery last March, will return. But he is “really fun to watch. Great stuff,” Rojas said. “He can be very versatile for us in the bullpen.” . . . Dominic Smith arrived Wednesday. Upon going over to a group that included Fred Wilpon and Jacob deGrom for handshakes, Wilpon went in for a hug. Smith happily obliged.
