Omar Minaya is taking the fifth on who will pitch the eighth.
The Mets general manager has arrived in Port St. Lucie, certain there will be open competition for several jobs once the first official spring workouts begin on Saturday. Among the significant battles will be for the eighth-inning setup role, leading into closer Francisco Rodriguez.
Unlike last season, when J.J. Putz was handed the job in spring training — he ultimately aggravated a bone spur in his right elbow and had to be shut down in June — the Mets appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach on the eighth inning this season.
Kelvim Escobar, Ryota Igarashi and Bobby Parnell are the main candidates, with Sean Green also in the mix.
The team would like to avoid an eighth inning by committee and have one reliever emerge.
“You like to be able to have that,” Minaya said yesterday. “We had it in 2006 when we had a successful year. In ’07 we were fine early on and then at the end of the year it didn’t happen. Not too many teams have that eighth-inning guy locked up.”
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It was actually a combination of Duaner Sanchez and Aaron Heilman that handled the job in 2006, with the latter taking the baton after Sanchez was involved in a taxi accident that cost him the last two months of the season. In the succeeding seasons, Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis, Putz and Parnell were just some of the relievers who claimed the setup role and pitched to mixed results.
The front runner heading into camp seems like Escobar, whom the Mets signed as a free agent in December.
The 33-year-old right-hander began his career as a reliever with the Blue Jays but became primarily a starter for the Angels, winning 18 games in 2007. He appeared in only one game over the last two seasons as he dealt with shoulder problems.
Minaya said the team will go slow with Escobar this spring, but could envision him getting the setup role.
“Let’s see how he pitches, first,” Minaya said. “But at some point in time we see him being that guy. He’s done it before.”
Igarashi brings a big fastball from Japan, where he pitched 11 seasons for the Yakult Swallows. The Mets signed the 30-year-old right-hander to a two-year deal worth $3 million.
Parnell had a dominant stretch last season in the sixth and seventh innings, but struggled in the setup role after Putz was sidelined. By the end of the season, the Mets were experimenting with Parnell in the starting rotation, where he struggled. Parnell is not a candidate for the rotation this season.
For now, Minaya is optimistic about the team’s setup choices, even if there is not a slam dunk for the job.
“When you have Frankie Rodriguez on the back end that helps, and you have [Pedro] Feliciano who has been very consistent, that helps also,” Minaya said. “We have some guys coming into camp who we’ll find out about. We’ll see how it comes along.”