Mets test Barnes as an opener

With Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco, and Seth Lugo all dealing on the mend recovering from a variety of injuries, the Mets have nearly as much pitching talent on their injured list as they do in their depth chart. Completing a turn through the rotation means getting creative with the arms they have and stealing outs to win games.

With spring training winding down, the Mets took their first stab at an unconventional but increasingly popular strategy on Saturday. They started the game with short reliever Jacob Barnes, and followed with leading rotation candidate Joey Lucchesi in relief against a tough Astros lineup. Though trendy, the so-called “opener” strategy is controversial because pitchers deployed by their teams with the plan are harmed by MLB’s inefficient arbitration system that pays starters for wins and innings, and relievers for saves.

But, most importantly for the Mets, it worked. The Barnes-Lucchesi tandem kept a tough Astros lineup scoreless through the first five frames, winning a comfortable 8-3 ballgame. Dom Smith stroked two home runs, while Pete Alonso mashed a two-run blast in the seventh to pad their lead. Excellent work, but expected from two of their best bats. Quieting one of the best offenses with a by Frankensteining a fifth starter was the story of the game.

“That went really well,” gushed Luis Rojas of the pairing. The Mets manager liked Barnes’ reasonably efficient (16 pitches) and highly effective (two strikeouts, no runs) outing.

Barnes has K’d eight batters — including Astros stars Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman in his Saturday assignment — over his last five spring innings without allowing a run. He’s established himself as a clear favorite to make the Opening Day roster.

“If you have the ability to do that and maybe be available the next day that’s pretty good. If you have the ability to go two innings, that’s pretty good,” said Rojas. “Just a lot of good things happened today with Barnes and Lucchesi. Good first test.”

Lucchesi earned high marks, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing just one home run, an Alex Bregman solo shot in the sixth. “I’m really happy where my body’s at. I’m throwing a little bit harder and I’m hoping that over time, even harder.”

VILLAR BANGED UP

Utility man Jonathan Villar is nursing a groin injury, Rojas said.

According to Rojas, Villar “felt a little something” in his groin while performing infield drills last week, which has sidelined him since Monday’s spring game against the Astros. The Mets manager described Villar’s as injury “day to day,” and added it was something he was “not really” concerned about. Rojas doesn’t expect him to hit the injured list.

presence stifling Julius Randle’s game.

New York still owns roughly $14 million in cap space that doesn’t roll over into the 2021 free agency. The money’s best use now is to facilitate a trade around the draft, but there are also lesser players still available in the buyout market like Jeff Teague and Gorgui Dieng.

“Just use it wisely,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of the cap space. “Always looking at opportunities to improve the club. If something makes sense, then we’ll do it.”

The Nets, meanwhile, inked LaMarcus Aldridge as a free agent Saturday, securing yet another former All-Star to their obscenely rich roster. They have a combined 41 All-Star appearances on the roster. FORTY-ONE. And that’s not counting the coaching staff.

If the NBA is worried about competitive balance, it should change the buyout process.

The Knicks, who entered Saturday’s game against the Bucks tied for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, have one combined All-Star appearance. But it’s significant because it occurred this season as Randle’s reward for lifting the team into playoff contention.

PAYNE STAYING PUT

Despite heavy interest from DePaul University, Kenny Payne is remaining with the Knicks as an assistant.

Payne had spoken to DePaul officials, including an athletic director he previously worked with at Kentucky, and was “close” to securing the school’s head coaching job, according to the university’s student-run newspaper, The DePaulia.

But it never happened. The entire Knicks staff is intact after some uncertainty. Two other Knicks assistants — Johnnie Bryant and Mike Woodson — were also linked to NCAA jobs at Utah and Indiana, respectively.

“Obviously very pleased that they’re being recognized and all are very capable but I’m obviously pleased that they’re staying,” Thibodeau said.