'I hate missing games': Minter logs perfect frame in Grapefruit League debut

JUPITER, Fla. -- Even Wednesday afternoon, following his first Grapefruit League game of spring, A.J. Minter wouldn’t commit to being ready for Opening Day. To be clear, Minter feels strong coming off August hip surgery, but he’s going to continue taking things as slowly as necessary -- even if that means missing a few games to begin the season.

Yet, when asked about Opening Day after throwing a perfect inning against the Cardinals, Minter allowed a brief smile to flash on his face.

“I hate missing games,” Minter said. “I’m going to leave that up to [manager Carlos Mendoza] and the coaching staff, but I’m going to do everything I can to prove to these guys that I’m here to win.”

Traditionally, Minter likes to log around 10 innings in Spring Training to feel ready for Opening Day. That won’t happen this year -- not after the Mets held him back in February in an effort to protect his surgically repaired left hip. But Minter should still be able to amass around seven or eight innings between Grapefruit League games and live batting practice, which would put him close enough to his usual mark to feel comfortable.

The catch is he’ll still need Mets trainers and medical staffers to clear him, regardless of how he feels. Much will depend upon how Minter recovers between outings.

“It’s kind of hard to tell right now,” Mendoza said. “First time out in games, we’re getting to know the player, he’s coming off a major surgery. So … I want to let it play out and see how it goes.”

In his spring debut at Roger Dean Stadium, Minter at least resembled his old self. Although he topped out at 93 mph, a tick or two below where he’d like to be on the radar gun, the left-hander flashed enough movement to tempt Alec Burleson into swinging at a cutter well off the plate. All told, Minter threw 10 pitches, striking out Burleson and inducing two weak groundouts.

“That’s the hardest thing, is just being patient and not pushing things,” Minter said, calling his first outing “definitely a long time coming.”

“It was a lot of hard work this offseason. But yeah, it’s all starting to pay off.”

Elsewhere in the ‘pen…

In a similar spot is Dedniel Núñez, another Mets reliever who will be on the Opening Day roster if healthy. The right-hander is about a week behind Minter, however, which makes him much more of a long shot to be ready.

Nú?ez is scheduled to throw his second live BP of spring on Thursday, putting him on track to make his Grapefruit League debut as soon as Sunday. As with Minter, much will depend upon his recovery between outings, after he missed most of the second half last year with a strained right flexor tendon.

On the mend

Catcher Francisco Alvarez returned to Mets camp sporting a heavy cast on his left arm, which he had decorated with the names of his mother, father, girlfriend and other family members.

“It’s hard for me -- losing time during the season is not good,” Alvarez said. “I’m working the whole season to try to be healthy, and that thing happened, and it’s hard for my mind. It’s hard for me. But I’ve got to keep going.”

Asked how much time he anticipates missing after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left hamate bone in his wrist, Alvarez cited a six-week estimate but said he hopes to return sooner. Team officials have said they expect Alvarez to miss 6-8 weeks. When he broke his hamate on a swing during live batting practice last week, Alvarez said he heard a pop and knew immediately that something significant was wrong.

Still, the young catcher is confident he’ll be able to return to top form rapidly once he’s healthy.

“It’s a quick recovery, so I don’t think I’m going to lose strength in my hand,” Alvarez said. “I’m very strong, too.”