JUPITER, Fla. – Duaner Sanchez might not have much longer to prove himself to the Mets.
If the Mets release the right-handed reliever by April 1, they would save three-fourths of his $1.6875 million contract, and yesterday, manager Jerry Manuel made it clear Sanchez is in a dogfight this spring.
“There is competition in that spot he’s in,” Manuel said after a 5-4 Grapefruit League win over the Cardinals. “I don’t deal with money. For me, it’s what’s best for the team, and there are some guys [other than Sanchez] who are pitching very well right now that have to be considered.”
Sanchez, who walked two in one scoreless inning, is under the microscope because he has yet to show the Mets he is the same dominant, high-velocity pitcher he was before wrecking his shoulder in a July 2006 taxi accident in Miami.
“He’s got to pitch well and convince us that, hey, he’s the guy he was two years ago,” Manuel said. “Basically, we go on the end result and look at the velocity.”
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Other than getting a called strikeout against Albert Pujols in the first inning, Jonathon Niese didn’t exactly help his case for the No. 5 starter job, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks in two shaky innings. . . . Lefty relief candidate Tom Martin will miss the next 10 days after injuring his calf in drills Thursday. . . . Luis Castillo was removed from yesterday’s game after four innings due to a tight hamstring, but Manuel said the issue isn’t serious. . . . Manuel also said right fielder Ryan Church, sidelined the past two days by a sore knee, should be back in the lineup today.
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The April 3-4 exhibition games at Citi Field against the Red Sox sold out yesterday morning in just 45 minutes. That follows a similar lightning-quick sellout earlier this week of the Citi Field debut game later this month between St. John’s and Georgetown. . . . The Mets’ sales at new Citi Field are strong, but the club is feeling the economic pinch in spring training. Attendance at 7,340-seat Tradition Field through the first five home games is down a whopping 15 percent.