deGrom on track after simulated game

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The goal was to build up Jacob deGrom’s pitch count with a target of 80 pitches. The tall righty, who had a disrupted spring training because of lower back stiffness, got up to 88 pitches Wednesday in a simulated game against Mets minor leaguers. Everyone involved was satisfied with the outcome.

But there was a minor point of contention.

“Jacob’s in a really good spot. We tired him out a little bit. You could see he was getting tired maybe the last two innings, which is really good and that’s what we wanted,” manager Mickey Callaway said.

“Actually felt really good,” deGrom said about his strength at the end of the session. “Felt really good the whole time. … I ended up throwing 80-something. Definitely felt good doing it.”

Next up for deGrom is pitching in Monday’s intrasquad game. The Mets set up the simulated game so deGrom would not work in the final week of the Grapefruit League against the Cardinals — whom he is scheduled to face a week from Saturday in the regular season. Callaway stressed he doesn’t want to “show everybody our guys” on the eve of the regular season. Another mission accomplished.

“Today, the main goal was to get the pitch count up and to be on five days [of rest] going into the season. Everything felt good,” said deGrom, who pitched to Travis d’Arnaud.

And he pitched with satisfying results, even if he pitched against non-Major League types in a relaxed, controlled atmosphere.

“You probably don’t have as much adrenaline,” deGrom said in a deadpan tone.

But it was a chance to stretch out the pitch count and work on whatever he wanted.

“I threw a lot of off-speed. I’d been getting around my slider a little bit, so I was just trying to stay behind it,” deGrom said. “Worked on changeup, curveball, fastball in and out. So just trying to get some work done. … [Curveball] was good. Like I said, my last start, my curveball was really good. I think that’s just getting everything back in line, trying to stay smooth and just locate.”