Stroman comfortable

Marcus Stroman had a terrific end to the 2019 season. His 1.88 ERA (five earned runs, 24 innings) across his last four games bore no resemblance to his first few August starts with the Mets — immediately after they acquired him from the Blue Jays. He pitched a 5.05 ERA over his first seven games with his new team.

Pitchers and baseball players are creatures of habit. Routine and repetition both play major roles in a successful season. For Stroman, being uprooted from Toronto — where he played for six years – and landing in New York — where he grew up — was a big change and a huge step in his career.

The key to his final four dominant starts last year was taking it easy, establishing his role on the Mets and getting to know his teammates. Now that things have calmed down, Stroman believes Mets fans will see the pitcher who ended the 2019 season instead of the one who debuted for the Amazin’s in the middle of the summer.

“I just think I need to get settled in. I’m settled in now,” Stroman said. “With the trade deadline, it was just a bunch going on last year. I truly think I was starting to get settled in my last start toward the end of the year. I felt like my stuff started to move better and I started to move better and I started to execute how I wanted to.

“To be honest with you, it was keeping my head where it needs to be, keeping my body where it needs to be. As much as those are in place, there’s nothing that can really stop me.”

The spotlight is undoubtedly on Stroman as he tries to anchor the Mets’ rotation without Noah Syndergaard in the picture following his Tommy John surgery. If the key to Stroman’s success is keeping his mind calm, then the Mets better sign him up for daily meditation sessions.

Stroman spent the baseball shutdown working out and kicking back at his Tampa home, where he built what he called a “recovery/workout