PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- At the end of last season, following his final excellent start in an otherwise disappointing season, Mets left-hander David Peterson went for a precautionary MRI to determine why his body was feeling so achy. Peterson didn¡¯t expect it to show much of anything.

When the diagnosis arrived of a torn labrum in his left hip, Peterson struggled to believe it.

¡°Confusion for sure,¡± he said of his reaction. ¡°I just really didn¡¯t think that was coming. But you kind of weigh the options, and it¡¯s something that I thought I needed to get done sooner rather than later. I feel better than I did before. I¡¯m definitely glad we did it, but [it¡¯s] obviously a bump in the road.¡±

That bump figures to keep Peterson sidelined until at least May, knocking him out of a Grapefruit League season that otherwise would have seen him compete against Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi, Jos¨¦ Butto and Max Kranick for positioning on the Mets¡¯ rotation depth chart. Peterson remains a significant part of New York¡¯s plans, but it could be close to midseason by the time he¡¯s ready to contribute in a meaningful way.

For now, Peterson isn¡¯t putting a timeline on his own progress. In Port St. Lucie, he¡¯s been working out and playing catch off flat ground, without immediate plans to graduate to mound work.

How much the torn labrum played into his 5.03 ERA last season isn¡¯t entirely clear, but a clean bill of health should at least give Peterson confidence once he¡¯s ready to contribute again.

¡°I feel really good,¡± Peterson said. ¡°Better than before. I¡¯ve been getting after the rehab, and [I¡¯m] excited to get back with the guys and get in the building and keep making progress.¡±

Fujinami arrives ¡­ sort of
The Mets officially announced their signing of reliever Shintaro Fujinami on Tuesday, but the right-hander did not take part in the first official pitcher and catcher workouts. That¡¯s because he¡¯s still awaiting a work visa to participate in camp. Although Fujinami is on campus and has been working out on his own, he isn¡¯t allowed to take part in official team activities until his visa arrives.

Once he becomes a full participant, Fujinami can lean on the expertise of Kodai Senga, the other Japanese native in the clubhouse. The two played together on Japan¡¯s 2017 World Baseball Classic team and have since hung out on occasion.

¡°Being Japanese players together on the same team, hopefully we can chat about things and take us both to a higher level,¡± Senga said through an interpreter.