PITTSBURGH — Carlos Torres might have spent the last month working from the bullpen for the Mets, but to manager Terry Collins he has been a starting pitcher just waiting for another chance.
That initial opportunity of the season will come Saturday night for the 30-year-old right-hander when he gets the ball at PNC Park against the Pirates for his first major league start in three years.
“He came here as a starting pitcher to give us some extra insurance,” Collins said before the Mets’ 3-2 loss in 11 innings Friday night. “I applaud what he did out of the bullpen, but we need what he did in [Triple-A] Vegas out of that rotation — seven or eight innings every night. That would help us a lot more than one or two.”
Torres is taking Shaun Marcum’s spot in the rotation, as Marcum awaits likely season-ending surgery on Monday for thoracic outlet syndrome. But Torres is replacing Matt Harvey tonight, after it was decided the Mets ace could use the extra rest heading into Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Citi Field. The Mets also want to ensure Harvey finishes the season, but doesn’t go much beyond 210 innings. He’s currently at 130 innings.
Torres’ last major league start came with the White Sox in 2010. He spent the next season in Japan before splitting 2012 between Triple-A and the Rockies’ bullpen. In 12 starts at Las Vegas this season, Torres was 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA.
Though Torres was in spring training with the Mets, he never emerged as a serious contender for the spot Jeremy Hefner ultimately claimed in the rotation after Johan Santana underwent season-ending surgery.
“In spring training we were going through a bunch of mechanical stuff,” Torres said. “We wanted to get a better direction to home plate and those things just didn’t work out so when I got sent down, I said, ‘Just go back to what you were doing’ and felt good.”
Torres said his old habits saved him.
“I throw a little bit across my body,” he said. “They suggested a change and actually I’ve always wanted to get better direction to home plate. They felt like it would be beneficial, but when all was said and done, I guess I’ve been throwing across my body a little too long, so I just kind of went back to it.”
Torres is 0-1 with a 0.51 ERA in 10 relief appearances this season. In 17 2/3 innings, he has struck out 15 batters and walked just two.
He has been a different pitcher than the Mets saw in spring training.
“His stuff is better,” Collins said. “His stuff all across the board is better. His velocity is up, his slider is better than what we saw, his command is better and it was very unfair to him, we had never seen him pitch until sprig training. We’re judging somebody out of spring training when the season he had last year should have spoken for itself.”
Collins was referring to Torres’ respectable 3.98 ERA last year in the altitude of Colorado Springs, where the Rockies have their Triple-A affiliate.
“Colorado Springs is tougher than Las Vegas,” Collins said. “Those numbers he put up in Colorado Springs were outstanding.”