BACK T O WORK: Johan Santana, throwing a bullpen session in July at Sun Life Field, had a 30-pitch session yesterday before the Mets faced the Marlins last night. (Getty Images)
MIAMI — After watching Johan Santana’s 30-pitch bullpen session at Sun Life Field yesterday, Mets manager Terry Collins was asked if a healthy Santana still would be considered an ace heading into spring training next season.
“He’s an ace, period,” Collins said before the Mets’ 7-4 victory in 12 innings last night. “I’ve heard too many stories about how he pitched even when he wasn’t 100 percent. He still pitched great. If his health is good, I know his competitiveness and ability to command a baseball. He’ll be as good as we’ve got.”
That might not be saying much.
Nevertheless, the Mets refuse to temper expectations for the rehabbing lefty. Pitching coach Dan Warthen also said his “stuff was better than he had last year.”
The Mets expect Santana to pitch a rehab game on Friday, and he could pitch in the majors before the end of the year.
“Seeing hitters, getting adrenaline going, going that extra notch, we’re going to find out how he reacts to all those situations,” Warthen said. “We may have to find out. If he feels ready to go and wants to throw a couple of innings, we’ll certainly be more than willing to accommodate him.”
But a few innings in 2011 is secondary to having a healthy and productive Santana next year. The Mets still are trying to figure out a way to make sure that happens, now that it has been nearly a year since his left shoulder surgery.
They also know they can’t protect him forever, and he will need to test himself and expose himself to overextension.
“He’s going to have to find out whether he can pitch or not,” Warthen said. “The more we can do this year to encourage him coming into spring training, to have faith in what’s going to happen with his future and how he feels, the better off we are, and he’s going to be. [But] we’re not going to take any chances on him.”
Santana also has proven to be cautious during this rehab, which is why Warthen said he will listen to him if he says he’s prepared for the next step.
“He’s not rushing, and we certainly are not going to rush him,” Warthen said. “But if he tells me he really feels good and wants to face somebody, then I think we can find a way to throw him out there.”
Before that, however, Santana has to show he can throw consistently, something he hasn’t been able to do.
“He’s on the right road, and I’m anxious to see how he does Friday and how he recovers [today],” Warthen said. “That’s always the biggest question.”
Santana is asking the same thing, because he doesn’t want to deal with these issues in spring training.
“I’m expecting to be just normal,” Santana said of next season. “That’s why it’s so important for me right now to get some games and be able to test my arm and recovery from one start to another. The question is, ‘Will I be able get to my next start?’ ”
Because the minor league season is coming to an end, it might necessitate Santana to pitch in the majors, but he also could get some innings in winter ball in his native Venezuela and then resume throwing in January.
“He needs his rest somewhere along the line,” Warthen said of winter ball, which begins in October. “Nov. 1 would be the cutoff date for him throwing, no matter what.”
Santana would like to get in some innings before then, though.