PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets will have an open competition for at least one job this spring.
Manager Terry Collins declared the fifth spot in his rotation a wide-open battle on Monday, with Zack Wheeler, Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo as the candidates.
Wheeler missed the past two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but won’t just be handed his old job if he shows he is healthy.
“It’s not only that Zack hasn’t pitched in so long, but it’s pretty fresh in my mind what I saw Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo do,” Collins said. “I think they need to be in that mix.”
With the Mets rotation hurting last season, Gsellman and Lugo came to the rescue over the final two months, going a combined 9-4 with a 2.57 ERA in helping the team clinch a wild-card berth.
If healthy, the Mets have Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz locked into four rotation spots. Team officials must decide if Wheeler is a better fit for the rotation or bullpen to start the season.
Wheeler will be on an innings limit, only complicating the equation.
“The one thing we are quite cognizant of is the fact we aren’t sure how many innings he’s going to be able to pitch,” Collins said about Wheeler, who told The Post last week that he belongs in the rotation. “So do you burn those innings early or do you burn those innings late? And that is certainly a discussion we will have as we go through spring training, but as I’ve told Zack: I read the papers, and I know he says he’s a starting pitcher. Well, of course he’s a starting pitcher. But right out of the gate we do not want to get caught up in a situation where Aug. 1 we need to shut this guy down.
“We want him ready because we think we’re going to make a good run and we certainly would like to have those innings late in the season when they are going to mean so much.”
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