Mets’ A.J. Minter progressing well but won’t rush to be back by Opening Day

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — In A.J. Minter’s race to be ready for Opening Day, the key is to try not to race at all.

He is the Mets’ new top lefthanded reliever, having joined on a two-year, $22 million contract over the offseason. He is coming off surgery in August to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. He badly wants to be with the team at the start of the season but, on Sunday, did not sound super confident that would be the case.

“[Mets officials are] pulling the reins on me. We’re going to be smart about this,” Minter said. “If I have to miss a few days or a couple of weeks, my goal is to help this team at the end of the season. We’re definitely going to be smart about this.”

Take it from fellow lefthander David Peterson, who had the same surgery in November 2023 and upon returning in May 2024 was better than ever. Patience pays off.

“There’s good days and there’s bad days,” Peterson said of the lengthy recovery. “But when it’s all said and done, it’s the last thing on my mind now. If you do it right, you follow the plan, you should come out even better on the other side . . . The biggest thing is listening to your body. If it’s the second week of the season instead of Opening Day, that’s better than having a setback and being out even longer.”

Minter added, of Peterson’s first-hand insights: “You get into a little bit of a head game with yourself, so just for him to reassure I’m on pace, everything is totally fine.”

That seems to be the approach Minter is taking, though everything has gone well through the first half of spring training , he said. He characterized his progress as “a little early” compared to what he expected entering camp.

Sunday morning, he took a big step, facing hitters for the first time since before surgery. He pitched to Pete Alonso, Starling Marte, Drew Gilbert and Joey Meneses in a simulated inning of about 20 pitches.

“Physically, felt good. I guess that’s all I can really ask for,” said Minter, who lamented that he threw “too many strikes” and gave up some hard hits. “The competitor in me wishes I would’ve gone out there and struck everyone out.”

Another recent adjustment for the competitor in him: being on the Mets.

Minter, 31, had been with noted NL East rival Atlanta since that organization drafted him in 2015. Across eight major-league seasons, he was among their most reliable relievers, posting a 3.28 ERA in 384 games — including a 2.95 ERA in 46 games against the Mets.

Switching sides, Minter acknowledged, came with “a little bit of weirdness” initially. That has passed, though, and he has begun to bond with new teammates, especially the relievers, including Danny Young, another lefty and his locker neighbor (who also had a stint with Atlanta).

“We were rivals, the Braves and the Mets. Your whole career, you want to do good against the Mets. You want to pitch good against them. Because they’re a team that we know it’s going to come down to the end,” Minter said.

“It took a little bit, a few days. But now it feels like family here. All these guys have embraced me.”

Minter and the Mets will have plenty of time to get to know each other, even if he is away for the first few days, wrapping up his rehab.

He noted that he rushed through spring training in 2019, when a car accident required a cortisone shot in his shoulder, which delayed his buildup, inspiring him to eventually hurry up, which yielded his worst season. So he doesn’t want to risk that again.

“I tried to reiterate how good of a job our training staff did with me, try to give him that confidence in them and the process,” Peterson said.

Minter said: “I haven’t had any setbacks. That’s really all I can ask for.”

Notes & quotes: Paul Blackburn allowed four runs in 1 1/3 innings in a 6-4 loss to the Red Sox. All of the runs came in the first inning, when he got yanked after one out and 23 pitches, but he returned for a perfect second. He blamed a work-in-progress sinker that was moving in ways he didn’t expect — a good thing, he said, if he harnesses it . . . Francisco Alvarez absorbed three hard foul tips, one to each shoulder and one to his groin . . . Jeff McNeil went 2-for-3, leading off the game with a double off the centerfield wall . . . Jose Siri homered for a second day in a row, his team-leading third of camp . . . Meneses, a first baseman/outfielder on a minor-league contract, returned to Mexico a few days ago, obtained his work visa and came back to Mets camp. He had been held up but now is cleared to play in Grapefruit League games.

With David Lennon in Fort Myers