Unusual measures for Wacha to get prepared
Jacob deGrom pitched a simulated game Thursday and looked sharp over three innings, but if the Mets plan on contending this season, they will need contributions from their entire rotation — which is where Michael Wacha comes in.
The right-hander is one of the Mets starters looking for a bounce-back season — along with fellow free-agent signee Rick Porcello — and felt he was in a good spot when spring training was halted in mid-March due to COVID-19.
Now, Wacha is trying to get ready for a truncated season set to begin in just over two weeks.
Though he has been at Citi Field and Clover Park in Port St. Lucie when he could, Wacha also took his preparation on the road.
“I’d play catch with some other players in the area at random ballfields, when we weren’t getting kicked out of them,’’ Wacha said. “But it was tough staying in shape, trying to find the resources we needed to stay at a high level when we came back.”
There was the park where he met Robert Gsellman on occasion that was between Port St. Lucie and where Gsellman was in Jupiter.
“A ranger would kick us off the field and we said, ‘Where are we supposed to throw?’ ” Wacha said Thursday.
Told the field was off limits, they asked if they could use the parking lot, so that’s what they did.
“We threw there for about a week and then they [relaxed] rules,’’ Wacha said. “Crazy times.”
Wacha’s travels next took him to Palm Beach, when Gsellman invited him to Eric Cressey’s performance center.
The setting has become the stuff of legend, as a collection of All-Stars, from Max Scherzer to Justin Verlander to Giancarlo Stanton, all worked out.
“[Gsellman] said we had some bullpens and catchers to throw to,’’ Wacha said. “He opened the door.”
Wacha called the experience of being around those players “very beneficial.”
“It was a very cool experience,’’ Wacha said. “It’s definitely been a wild time.”
And it left Wacha confident he will be ready when the season begins.
“I couldn’t have been happier with everything I was able to get my hands on and had access to during quarantine,’’ Wacha said.
He will be part of a rotation that includes deGrom, who threw 42 pitches Thursday and is on track to start Opening Day, as well as Marcus Stroman, Porcello and Steven Matz — with Noah Syndergaard out for the season following Tommy John surgery. “I’ve just been preparing to come in and be a starter and to try eat up as many innings as I can,’’ Wacha said. “I’ll be good and be ready to take the ball whenever I’m asked.” The Mets intend to use a traditional five-man rotation, which is what Wacha is building toward, but he knows this season could mean something different for some starting pitchers. “I’ve heard six-man and a threeman [rotation] to ride guys for a shorter season,’’ Wacha said. “I’ll be in communication with the staff here.” DeGrom, who allowed just one run Thursday, figures to get one more sim-game start and an exhibition game against the Yankees before the Mets open the year against Atlanta in Queens. While he and Stroman will lead the staff, even in a shortened season, rotational depth will be important. Wacha says he’s ready. “The ball had been coming out well,’’ Wacha said of how he felt this spring. “I was pretty bummed out about getting shut down so close to the [regular] season. But I’ve been able to build on my mechanics and I’ve been happy with how I’m feeling.”