JUPITER, Fla. -- Through five Grapefruit League outings, Craig Kimbrel has issued five free passes and hit two batters. He walked the leadoff man Tuesday against the Marlins, permitted him to come around to score, then escaped further damage only when a 368-foot flyout settled into Luis Robert Jr.’s glove. All the while, Kimbrel topped out at 92.6 mph, nowhere close to his Hall of Fame peak.
In other words, Kimbrel’s quest to make the Mets’ roster at age 37 is not going perfectly.
“We’re getting close to the end,” Kimbrel said. “My body feels good. I wish I could show a little bit more out there velocity-wise. I’m throwing most of my pitches like I want to, but not all of them. That’s about where I am.”
As currently constructed, the Mets have one open bullpen spot behind Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, Luis García, Tobias Myers and Huascar Brazobán. Kimbrel entered camp with a prime chance to lock down that spot, but his spring inconsistencies haven’t helped his chances. What’s more, Kimbrel will earn $2.5 million if he makes the team, and the Mets would pay even more on top of that in Competitive Balance Tax penalties.
For prime Kimbrel, that would be no big deal. For this version of Kimbrel, it might be.
“It’s not up to me,” Kimbrel said. “It just kind of depends on what they want the roster to look like, who they want down in the bullpen and who they think is going to help the team to start the year. Do I feel like I can do that? Absolutely. But it’s not my choice.”
While this situation is fluid, left-hander Bryan Hudson is currently among the favorites to nail down the Mets’ lone bullpen vacancy. While Hudson’s 11.57 ERA may look ugly, that’s based on a small sample size of Grapefruit League games and still includes four strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings. Mets officials have lauded Hudson’s work on the back fields, while noting that his velocity is up from a year ago.
Other bullpen candidates still in camp include Austin Warren, Joey Gerber and Richard Lovelady.
Then again, the team could still choose Kimbrel. Manager Carlos Mendoza has consistently lauded the quality of the right-hander’s stuff, even despite his struggles with velocity and control.
Soft-tossing Sean
The good news for Sean Manaea was that he retired all 12 batters he faced in Tuesday's 5-5 tie against the Marlins, proving so efficient that he needed to throw additional pitches in the bullpen.
The bad news is that his fastball velocity continued to lag, averaging 88.4 mph and topping out at 89.9.
“It’s low, but at the end of the day, I feel good,” Manaea said. “I’m not concerned about it whatsoever. I know when I get up to Citi Field and get some adrenaline going, I think it will shoot back up. But right now, it is what it is.”
In an attempt to increase his velocity, which typically sits several ticks higher in Spring Training, Manaea has been long-tossing and throwing pull-downs (high-intensity throws with a running start, designed to help arm strength). So far, it hasn’t manifested in extra velocity, but Manaea believes he can succeed with his five-pitch mix even if the miles per hour don’t return.
“I’ve done it in the past,” Manaea said. “I’ve pitched with 86, 87. Obviously, I don’t want to be there. But I still think I’m effective.”
Steady at short
The most encouraging aspect of Francisco Lindor’s return from injury is that two games in, he’s barely been noticeable on the field. Lindor played six innings at shortstop on Tuesday, going 1-for-4 at the plate. He will take another day off on Wednesday before playing again on Thursday. By the end of camp, Lindor should see action in back-to-back games.
Lindor continues to trend well for Opening Day after undergoing left hamate surgery on Feb. 11.
“Another good day,” Mendoza said. “Aggressive swings. He looked like a normal player. … Against real competition today, it was good to see him play the way he did.”