
JUPITER, Fla. -- A week after throwing batting practice, right-hander Seth Lugo progressed enough to make his first Grapefruit League appearance on Monday, showing no ill effects from a fractured left pinkie toe suffered early in camp.
Lugo entered Monday's 1-1 tie with the Marlins in the fourth inning, relieving starter Walker Lockett, who was making his first spring start. Lugo worked a scoreless inning, throwing 15 pitches (10 strikes), and retired the side in order. The 30-year-old added a strikeout and got his fastball up to 94 mph.
“I thought the action on the pitches was there,” Lugo said. “It’s always a work in progress as far as location, but it was good enough.”
Though he said the toe isn’t 100 percent, it feels good enough to continue his Spring Training regimen.
“I’m sure it’s a little while before it’s healed, but I didn’t feel it out there and it didn’t affect any pitches, so that’s all that matters,” Lugo said. “I’m not running five miles, but it doesn’t really affect me backing up bases or pitching, so that’s all that matters. I took a couple of Aleve and didn’t think about anything.”
Lugo says his two-seamer, a pitch he’s paid particular attention to this spring, is coming along.
“It was a lot better today,” Lugo said. “I was facing some low-ball hitters, so I was elevating pretty good and threw it pretty much where I wanted to.”
It was the positive outing that manager Luis Rojas was hoping for.
“He looks good,” Rojas said. “His progression is going accordingly, so let’s see how he keeps going throughout the spring as well. It was a big outing for him.”
Lugo said he looks forward to his next outing in a couple of days while continuing to work on his game.
“The way I approach every game in every outing, whether it’s Spring Training or in season, I just go out there and do what I do and then make adjustments off of that,” he said. “I could have gotten ahead of hitters a little better, so that’s what I’ll work on.”
Lugo is coming off an impressive season in 2019, which saw him strike out a career-high 104 batters over 80 innings while allowing a career-low 16 walks. The veteran reliever has appeared in 151 games over four seasons with the Mets, including a career-high 61 appearances last season. He also has 31 career starts for New York and has compiled a 22-15 record with nine career saves and a 3.27 ERA.