Zack Wheeler throws seven pitches off slope of mound in first comeback session

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The session lasted less than five minutes. It involved nothing more than a handful of pitches thrown from the mound a few feet in front of the rubber.

On the long road back from Tommy John surgery, it represented one of many mileposts, proof of incremental progress in the middle of a 15-month slog. But for Mets righthander Zack Wheeler, those pitches off the mound meant so much more.

“As small as it was, it was a big milestone,” Wheeler said Saturday after throwing off a mound for the first time since surgery. “It’s sort of what you’re working forward to, to get back on the mound, even if it was seven throws off the front of the mound. It’s still feet on the dirt, getting back off the slope a little bit.”

The journey still is long, with plenty of hurdles to clear before July, when Wheeler is expected to rejoin the Mets’ star-studded rotation. Before the Mets can dream of having all five of their young aces on the same staff at the same time, Wheeler must keep taking small steps.

He’ll graduate to pitching off the rubber, then to facing hitters and pitching in rehab games. Finally, about 15 months after going under the knife last March, he hopes to step on a major-league mound for the first time since 2014.

“I’ve had enough conversations with him to know that he’ll be ready when the time’s right,” manager Terry Collins said. “We have made a very important decision not to rush it back. We’ve kind of stuck to this 15-month plan. When he’s ready, he’ll be up.”

Wheeler’s throwing session was finished in a blink. It was greeted with little fanfare, on a group of pitching mounds tucked away in the corner of the complex where sun-baked fans aren’t allowed to roam.

At this time of camp, Collins typically roams the fields, his presence serving primarily to keep players on their toes, particularly ones who might help the Mets as call-ups during the season.

“We’re going to need players,” he said. “I told those guys that they have got to approach it like they’re going to make this team. I’m going to go around just to watch and see how they handle themselves, what their actions look like, and let them know that I’m watching close.”

But with Wheeler’s return date still months away, Collins turned his attention elsewhere as he took his small step forward.

It could have come sooner. The righthander could have been ready to throw off the mound a month ago. But the Mets slowed his progress on purpose in the belief that a 15-month return date would increase his likelihood of bouncing back healthy.

“I was sort of playing it safe in the first place and then they came along with this,” Wheeler said. “That’s fine with me. It’s only going to help me in the future. Obviously, I’d rather be back out there sooner rather than later. But sometimes things take time. It’s a big surgery that I had. So I’ll take time now rather than later.”

For the Mets, the timing could work well. In Wheeler, they would be adding a fireballing righthander around midseason. With a fastball that hit the high 90s, Wheeler was 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 2014, with his best results coming in the second half.

Anything close to that version of Wheeler would provide another boost for a starting rotation that already might be the best in baseball. But before all of that, he must finish the rehab process, reaching small checkpoints the way he did on Saturday.

“It’s big for me personally,” Wheeler said. “It might be small, but it’s big for me.”