Swarzak sold on Callaway
If Anthony Swarzak’s reunion with his former pitching coach, Mickey Callaway, is the highlight of the Mets’ offseason, it likely won’t matter how well the right-hander does in the bullpen, as the team almost certainly will be in for a disappointing year.
But Swarzak, who signed a two-year, $14 million deal last week to join AJ Ramos, Jeurys Familia and Jerry Blevins in the Mets’ bullpen, is confident that being under Callaway’s tutelage again ensure his breakout 2017 season wasn’t a fluke.
During an introductory conference call Thursday, Swarzak credited the former Indians pitching coach with helping him turn his career around in 2015.
“I love the guy,’’ Swarzak said. “He’s a straight shooter. … In ’15, I made the club and pitched all right, but I just gave up too many hits and the consistency wasn’t there. He tried to get my stride a little longer ... and here we are a few years later and I’ve never been in better shape and my stride is longer.”
After spending part of the season with Triple-A Columbus, Swarzak played the rest of the year in South Korea.
“When I was in Cleveland, the day I got sent down, Mickey told me he liked me but I had to get stronger,’’ Swarzak said. “At the time, I don’t know if I wanted to hear that. But I went home that offseason and dedicated myself to the gym.’’
If Callaway’s advice really did spark the turnaround, it took some time to click, since Swarzak had an ugly 2016 season with the Yankees, with a 5.52 ERA — done in by 10 home runs in just 31 innings.
After signing a minor league deal with the White Sox, he became a sought-after arm at last year’s trade deadline and was able to routinely hit the mid-tohigh 90s and throw an effective slider with the White Sox and Brewers.
In 70 appearances between the two teams, Swarzak had a career-best WHIP of 1.034. His strikeouts went up (10.6 per nine innings) and he allowed just six home runs in 77 innings.
“Last year, I kind of took off,’’ Swarzak said. “Hopefully we’re gonna get back on the domination train as we like to call it.”