PORT ST. LUCIE — Bobby Parnell raised his right arm to just above his waist.
He was showing The Post how badly the pain affected him before he underwent neck surgery last Sept. 10 to repair a herniated disk.
“The pain was bad,’’ Parnell said. “Real bad.’’
The good news for the Mets is the pain is gone and Parnell now has full movement of his arm, and the closer sees himself on the fast track to recovery.
“I feel great,’’ Parnell, 29, said Monday as 49 Mets from all different levels of the organization gathered for pre-camp workouts.
Manager Terry Collins surveyed the scene and said: “Bobby is going to be huge for us this year.’’
All the closer talk in New York has been about David Robertson taking over for Mariano Rivera, but the fate of the Mets rests on Parnell’s right arm.
If Parnell can’t come back from his surgery, the Mets will once again have too many holes to fill before the season even gets underway. Parnell is one of the most well-liked players in the clubhouse, and the starting pitchers are counting heavily on Parnell being 100 percent by the time the season starts.
The hard-throwing right-hander converted 22 of 26 save opportunities before his season ended early, and in two of those blown saves, it was the defense that cost the Mets, not Parnell’s pitching.
Zack Wheeler put into perspective just how much the Mets have riding on Parnell.
“It’s great to see Bobby, he’s a big part of our team, he’s a big part of our bullpen,’’ Wheeler said. “When I come out of the game I definitely want him closing my games out. It’s unfortunate what happened to him last year, so it’s good to see him back.’’
Then, without prompting, Wheeler added, “He’s a good guy overall too. It’s good to see him nice and healthy.’’
Parnell said he is about two weeks behind schedule. While pitchers threw on the “six pack’’ — a group of six mounds — Parnell sat on the side and watched them throw. A little while later, Parnell went on one of the mounds and worked on his balance drills.
He is throwing on flat ground but is not yet ready to let it go. Parnell has reached speeds of 102 mph in major league games, but this is the long, slow road back.
“Right now it’s more getting out there throwing 120 feet, lifting, running,’’ Parnell said. “Just getting my feet under me a lot more.
“My confidence is getting back, now that I get out there and do something more every day. I started [pitchers’ fielding practice] late last week and will continue that this week. Just reaching for baseballs and moving a little quicker than I have. Everything is feeling great, no pain.’’
Pain is the great equalizer in baseball. If you have pain, sooner or later you will fail.
There is only a small scar in the front on Parnell’s neck from the surgery.
“We don’t want to mess with the neck too much right now,’’ Parnell said. “We’re just trying to keep it to natural movements.
“My bullpen [sessions] are pushed back two weeks. We’ve been doing little things every day to get to that point and I’ve had no setbacks, no pain.’’
Parnell said he paid no attention to the Mets’ courting of Grant Balfour, who signed with the Rays, and Fernando Rodney, who joined the Mariners. Clearly, while Parnell is making progress, Mets management has tried to add a closer. Neither of those players signed with the Mets so they settled on adding Kyle Farnsworth, the cheapest of insurance policies. They are keeping an eye on free agents Joel Hanrahan and Ryan Madson, too.
“The game plan is to be ready for the season,’’ Parnell said with confidence.
He better be ready. The Mets need him more than ever.