NOT SO RAF’
Montero continues putting horrid '16 behind him
Rafael Montero’s spring of redemption continued with five scoreless innings on Saturday in a 3-0 Mets win over the Braves in Kissimmee, Fla.
It was the right-hander’s first start of the spring, but with no room in the rotation (as of now), Montero remains a candidate to make the Mets’ bullpen to start the season.
“Right now, that’s the spot we’re trying to fill,” manager Terry Collins said. “We’ve got the starters pretty much in place, so if he makes the club, it will probably be in the bullpen.”
But as Collins and the Mets know all too well, those plans can change quickly, which is why Montero pitched that deep into the game.
Collins said Montero would be kept stretched out “because you never know when you’re going to need it.”
Wherever he winds up, the Mets want Montero to keep pitching the way he has this spring.
A year ago, he walked a whopping 61 batters in 130 innings, but he was better again on Saturday at attacking a Braves lineup that featured regular players such as Brandon Phillips, Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis.
“He’s throwing strikes,” Collins said of Montero’s improved fastball command. “Where in the past he’s nibbled and nibbled and nibbled and fallen behind in counts and got himself in trouble. Right now, he’s not doing that.”
That is no mistake, according to Montero, once a prized prospect who is now 26 and still trying to make an impact.
“Of course this year I had to show what I had, knowing that last year I struggled a little bit,” Montero said through a translator. “But that’s all in the past now.”
That still is to be determined, but the fact he has given up just four runs in 18 ¹/3 innings this spring and struck out 21 is reason for encouragement. The eight walks he has issued are somewhat high, but the Mets certainly will take these results.
“He’s throwing a little harder this spring than I’ve seen him throw, but I still like the change of speeds,” Collins said. “He wasn’t just all fastballs.”
Travis d’Arnaud nailed four of six runners attempting to steal in a minor league exhibition game in Port St. Lucie. D’Arnaud is 0-for-12 in Grapefruit League play, which includes four stolen bases by the Astros in as many attempts Friday with Noah Syndergaard on the mound.
After that game, d’Arnaud watched video with catching instructor Glenn Sherlock and saw a comparison of his throwing motion to that of backup catcher Rene Rivera.
“I was standing a little too tall,” d’Arnaud said. “Rene was really low to the ground and stayed back a lot better than I was, so I was able to do that in early work today.”
Collins has said he is leaning toward starting Rivera with Syndergaard on the mound for the season opener on April 3 at Citi Field, but d’Arnaud hardly seems offended by the notion, but he was pleased with Saturday’s improvement.
“Anything that builds confidence matters,” Collins said. “If that helps, then it matters.”
“I’m going to feel exactly how I felt and will always feel,” d’Arnaud said. “Whatever the team thinks is going to get us to the World Series, I’m in.”
Collins said heis hoping to get right-hander Sean Gilmartin into a game on Monday,
“We need arms,” Collins said. “Again, we’ll make those decisions here in the next few days about what our best options are.”