New OF Pillar has a believer in Rojas
Mets manager thinks ex-Jay can turn it around on ‘D’
Luis Rojas’ Mets so far seem to be on the right track. Even though this year’s spring training schedule is much closer to normal than last year’s, what lingers in the back of Rojas’ mind is whether it will be enough.
“I don’t want to say we were concerned, but that’s the word that comes to mind right now,” Rojas said before the Mets’ afternoon game against the St. Louis Cardinals, their third Grapefruit League matchup of the year. “You think about the position players, you think about the pitchers getting their reps out there, getting to build to where we want him by the start of the season.
“And at the same time, we want them to be healthy. I mean that’s the number one goal.”
The Mets, after Wednesday’s game, which was delayed due to rain in the Jupiter, Fla. area, will have just 21 games left before packing up and heading off for the real deal.
“We want to leave with the team out of here,” Rojas continued. “I think we feel pretty good about it right now.”
The progression of getting their pitchers and position players ready through live game experience continued Wednesday with a lineup that included center fielder Kevin Pillar, who’s looking to prove he is worth a roster spot come the end of the month.
The Mets badly need to shore up their defense in the outfield, particularly in center.
Pillar, a longtime Toronto Blue Jay, wasn’t sharp defensively last year. Rojas, who’s kept his faith in a Pillar turnaround, attributed his defensive hiccups to playing in difficult home parks like Coors Field — “where there’s a lot of land”, according to Rojas — and Fenway Park. Rojas alluded to using his own eyes to judge Pillar’s skills before the season, rather than rely on his metrics, which he also studied.
“This guy’s a veteran, he can read swings, he will know where to position where to position himself,” Rojas said. “He’s got more years under his belt… let’s say that we expect him to be the outfielder he has been in the past and then we’ll go from there.”
Pillar had a double and a triple against the Cardinals on Wednesday, though the Mets were waxed 14-9. Pitchers Jerad Eickhoff and Jacob Barnes, who both joined the Mets from other organizations this offseason, both struggled early, giving up seven runs in the first three innings.
NY MANAGER TO NY MANAGER
After the game, Rojas said that he heard midgame about Aaron Boone’s heart surgery.
“My respect for Aaron, first of all, he was very welcoming to me when I came into my position, a fellow manager from the same city. I have so much respect for him,” Rojas said.
“I’ll find out more of the details, but my prayers and thoughts are with him and his family right now. I jus twant to pray for the best with him .... Because I found out when I was in-game, the word got spread around real quick.”
SPRING DEBUTS COMING
Dominic Smith will make his spring training debut on Thursday against the Nationals. He’ll be in the lineup likely as a designated hitter, according to the manager. Smith arrived to Mets camp a little late, which is the reason for his delayed appearance in live spring games.
Rojas confirmed Jacob deGrom would be starting Saturday against the Astros, his first start of spring training. Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker, however, are still yet to be scheduled for their spring starts. “There’ll be some guys behind,” Rojas said. Walker has recently progressed to throwing live BP and Carrasco has been throwing sides.
“We’ll build them up the best way we can and then they’ll be included in games as we go, that are a little later,” Rojas said.