Port St. Lucy – This was a big step for AJ Minter.
The Mets' new left-handed reliever signed an opt-out and a two-year, $22 million contract after this season, facing batsman on Sunday since undergoing hip surgery in August.
It came during a batting practice session at Clover Park when the Mets traveled to Fort Myers for a Grapefruitreeg match against the Red Sox.
“It feels physically good,” Minter said Sunday. “That's all I can really ask for. I threw a lot of strikes, I think I threw too many strikes. I hope I got more swings and mistakes, my competitor hopes I got out there and hit everyone, but I was the first batter since August and I was happy with it. I checked the box today and checked the next box.”
After spending the first eight years of his career with rival Braves, Minter believes he's ahead of where he expected to be at the moment.
He throws another session of batting practice before deciding whether he is ready to join the game.
Whether he's ready for opening day will be a close call, but Minter doesn't want to compete with the watch.
“I think trainers and coaches are bothering me too much about sprinting and doing things in the weight room, like, 'I can do more, I can do more,' but they're holding the reins for me,” Minter said. “We're going to be smart about this. If we have to miss out on days or weeks, my goal is to help this team at the end of the season. We'll definitely be smart about this.”
Minter, 31, has already learned that lesson.
“I'm a competitor, I want to get ready,” Minter said. “But as I get older, I'm a little smarter, so I rushed to spring training in the past and hurt me during the season. In 2019, I was in a car accident in spring training, taking a shot of a cortisone on my shoulder, and rushed back and missed the weekend. [batting practices]. I hurried back, had a terrible season and was sent back.
“I think we need to learn from the past, do our job. We can't just hurry, we can't go, we can't face the live batsman, we can't face the game. It's another adrenaline rush, another pace. We'll definitely be smarter.”
