DON’T GIVE ME ANY BULL
ANTI-PEN WHEELER WANTS TO STAY STARTER
PORT ST. LUCIE — There are doubts — two years of being sidelined following Tommy John surgery will do that to even the most strong-willed pitcher.
But there is also relentless determination by Zack Wheeler to earn back his spot in the starting rotation.
The Mets right-handler returned to practice Tuesday with his teammates at voluntary camp, and has but one goal in his sights.
Hint: It’s not out there in the bullpen.
“I know I belong in the starting rotation, there’s no question about that,’’ Wheeler told The Post as he stood behind the cluster of practice mounds known as the s i x- pa c k .
“I’m a starter. I want to be a starter.’’ There is zero doubt about that. Wheeler, 26, is aware he has to run the pitching gauntlet to get back home to the rotation, and that probably means a bullpen stint, but there is no way Wheeler wants to fall into the bullpen trap. He has seen it happen too many times. “I feel that guys that go to the bullpen get stuck in the bullpen and I don’t want to do that,’’ Wheeler said. “Because either you are doing bad and you stay in the bullpen because yo u can’t be a starter, or you are doing really good and they can’t afford to move you out of the bullpen. So you are going to get stuck there, and that’s why I’m trying to let everybody know that I’m not a bullpen guy, I’m a starter.’’
It’s clear. And, truth be told, Wheeler, 49 major league starts, no relief appearances, doesn’t even know if he can handle the bullpen. Forget about on back-to-back days. “I don’t even know if I could do every other day in the bullpen,’’ Wheeler said. “It was a struggle for me to get every fifth day that’s because I’ve started my whole life. “It’s the mindset, it’s physical, it’s what you’ve been doing your whole life. “I know at some point I will have to go to the bullpen thing just because of the innings,’’ Wheeler said. “I hate innings limits, but I guess that is part of the game these days. You’ve got to do what they say. They’re the boss.’’ Wheeler said he talked to Sandy Alderson about the situation this winter and that the conversation “reassured me.’’ He knows the Mets are looking out for him. He’s had Tommy John surgery, stitches that didn’t dissolve and platelet-rich plasma injections. He’s had too many false starts, but it’s finally go time.
“It’s been fun watching these guys from a distance,’’ he said of the Mets’ talented young starters. “It’s going to be fun to see if I still got it against big league guys. That’s the way I look it, but I know I still do. I just don’t want to get my hopes up too high.’’
First things f i rst, he has to re-establish himself in his own mind.
This has been the longest of roads back for Wheeler.
“You start to second- g uess yourself when you start having some complications,” he admitted. “I was supposed to come back last year a couple different times and that didn’t happen so you start to second-guess yourself, but at the same time you have that trust and believe in yourself where you can sort of push through that every day.’’
Wheeler has been pushing that boulder up the hill since March 201 5. P ushing, pushing, pushing, only to see it roll back down again.
“I know I will really be back when I’m starting again and hitting on all cylinders,’’ Wheeler said.
“I let it loose this offseason, it’s coming out good, I feel good, but the real test will be when I throw off the mound here and put that last little bit on it, because that’s when it was barking last year.’’
There has been much too much pain, now is the time to begin to gain back his spot in the rotation.
“I feel that guys that go to the bullpen get stuck in the bullpen and I don’t want to do that. ... I’m trying to let everybody know that I’m not a bullpen guy, I’m a starter.” —Zack Wheeler