New York Post

An emotional Short trip to Opening Day

- By MIKE PUMA

PORT ST. LUCIE — Zack Short spent much of the winter expecting a call that never came, telling him the Mets had moved on from him.

On Sunday he received a call to the manager’s office telling him he was on the team’s Opening Day roster.

The 28-year-old infielder will open the season as part of the Mets’ bench, after team brass decided to option Mark Vientos to Triple-A Syracuse. Short, a Kingston, N.Y., native and former Sacred Heart University standout, was claimed off waivers from the Tigers in November, but after the Mets signed veteran infielder Joey Wendle, he figured he would be designated for assignment.

“When [Wendle] signed I kind of almost saw the writing on the wall,” Short said. “Joey and I have joked about that pretty recently. After that the call never came and day by day let’s get to spring training and get on the field and see what we need to do.”

Short learned his maternal grandmothe­r had passed away Sunday just hours before he was told he had made the team.

“Crazy morning,” he said, noting that his family is “a lot better now.”

Short grew up in a divided family of Mets and Yankees fans and followed his father’s lead. That meant rooting for the Mets — Edgardo Alfonzo and Benny Agbayani were two of his favorite players. Short recalled sitting in the upper deck at Shea Stadium during the Subway World Series in 2000.

Short can potentiall­y serve as a late-inning defensive replacemen­t for Brett Baty at third base and he said his numbers this spring (he had a .900 OPS) validated the work he’s put in on his swing.

“It still hasn’t hit me,” Short said of his selection to the roster. “But I think that drive to Citi Field on Thursday and putting that real jersey on for the first time is going to hit pretty special.”

➤ Kodai Senga will begin throwing this week, according to president of baseball operations David Stearns. The right-hander, who won’t pitch for the Mets until at least May, was shut down from throwing early in camp with a shoulder strain.

➤ Luis Severino finished the Grapefruit League with a 1.29 ERA, allowing one earned run over five innings against the Nationals in the Mets’ 10-1 victory at Clover Park on Sunday. The right-hander, who has a history of spring training injuries, said he accomplish­ed his primary goal of escaping camp healthy.

“It feels really good to finally find a routine that keeps me on the field,” Severino said.

Severino is scheduled to pitch Game 2 of the season.

➤ The Mets traded reliever Austin Adams to the A’s for cash.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States