PORT ST. LUCIE — Five weeks from today, by the time “Play Ball” is yelled at Citi Field, Jerry Manuel wants an answer in place. For now the Mets manager can only sit, squirm and wonder who his setup man for Francisco Rodriguez will be.
The team’s first choice heading into camp, Kelvim Escobar, isn’t close to throwing off a mound as he nurses a weak right shoulder (it’s expected he won’t be ready by Opening Day) leaving Manuel with a list of maybes for the job.
Ryota Igarashi, Bobby Parnell and Sean Green are candidates, and Fernando Nieve may eventually join that list if he’s not selected as the Mets’ fifth starter. Pedro Feliciano is probably too valuable against lefties to warrant serious consideration.
J.J. Putz entered last season as the Mets’ setup man, but lasted only two months before undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow, ending his season. The Mets never really filled the vacancy.
“That’s going to be our biggest challenge this spring, finding that spot,” Manuel said yesterday. “The other things will work themselves out, but [the setup job] probably concerns me the most. I would just like to see somebody separate himself and be that guy.”
The Mets love Igarashi’s split-fingered fastball, but the Japanese right-hander still has to prove he can handle major-league hitters. He’ll begin getting that chance tomorrow, as a scheduled pitcher in the Mets’ Grapefruit League opener against the Braves.
Igarashi said he would “definitely welcome” the opportunity to win the eighth-inning job and doesn’t view it as a higher-pressure role than pitching an earlier inning.
“To me, there is no difference,” he said. “No matter which inning I’m pitching, I have to get the job done.”
Parnell, who was among the pitchers used in the setup role last season, said there is a definite difference between pitching the eighth and seventh inning.
“The game gets tougher as it goes, because you have less room for error,” Parnell said. “So you’ve got to be able to execute pitches and be consistent with your stuff.
“I’ve just got to be more consistent, and that’s something I’m working on in spring training,” Parnell said. “It would be a big honor to get the ball to K-Rod. It’s something I look forward to doing if I get the chance.”
Manuel dreads the idea of a revolving door for the eighth inning. He would prefer selecting one pitcher and then staying the course instead of arriving at the ballpark on a daily basis and wondering who will be the bridge to Rodriguez.
Green is perfecting a new submarine delivery, but could be viewed as more of a right-handed specialist than the “crossover guy” Manuel seeks.
The X-factor is Nieve, who is locked in a battle with Jon Niese for the fifth spot in the Mets’ rotation. Nieve has experience working from the bullpen, and says he would need little time to prepare for that role if Niese is chosen for the rotation.
“For now I’ve just got to fight for the fifth spot and I’ll just focus on that,” Nieve said. “I want to be a starter, but if I have a chance to make a switch and be on the team, I’ll do it.”
Asked to name a front runner for the eighth-inning job, Manuel had no answer.
“I don’t want it to be by committee,” he said. “But if we have to we will.”
