![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/new-york-mets-starting-pitcher-99979448.jpg?w=1024\")
<\/p>\nWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2014 Technically, Paul Blackburn finds himself in a spring competition, the Mets saying three starters (including Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill) are competing for two rotation spots.<\/p>\n
But Blackburn, who is out of minor league options and due about $4 million this season, is a clear front-runner.<\/p>\n
His stuff and health \u2014 particularly after his scare at the end of last season \u2014 are more important than his results.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Blackburn was happy with his stuff and his health, but his final results remained poor.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Mets righty pitched two scoreless innings before getting knocked around in his third, finishing with 2 \u00b9\/\u2083 innings in which he allowed three runs on five hits (including a pair of home runs) and two walks.<\/p>\n
Blackburn has been trying to hone a new sinker and sweeper.<\/p>\n
He felt good about his sinker until it \u201cflattened out on me\u201d during the three-run Nationals third, he said, when James Wood and CJ Abrams homered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a competitor. I\u2019m not happy with how things ended up there,\u201d said Blackburn, whose 2024 season ended when he needed a spinal fluid leak repaired in his back. \u201cBut I\u2019m happy with where I\u2019m at now and how my body\u2019s feeling. I feel like I am going to be ready to start the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manager Carlos Mendoza also came away feeling positive about a start in which Blackburn\u2019s fastball hit 93 mph.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just a matter of him feeling good physically,\u201d Mendoza said after the 5-4 loss to the Nationals at the Park of the Palm Beaches.<\/p>\n Sean Reid-Foley, who had cleared outright waivers, accepted his assignment to Triple-A Syracuse.<\/p>\n The righty reliever could have declined and become a free agent, but chose to stay with the Mets.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be here. I love this organization,\u201d Reid-Foley said. \u201cThey stood by me when I got Tommy John.. \u2026 I wouldn\u2019t be at almost four years of service time without the New York Mets.\u201d<\/p>\n Reid-Foley arrived in the 2021 trade that sent Steven Matz to the Blue Jays, and he appeared in just 15 total games in 2022 and \u201923 because of the elbow surgery.<\/p>\n He was excellent when healthy last season (1.66 ERA in 21 \u00b2\/\u2083 innings), but missed the final three months of the season (plus the postseason) with a shoulder impingement.<\/p>\n Reid-Foley found the bright side of being removed from the 40-man roster: He can build up in spring a bit slower and hope to avoid another injury. He has appeared in just one Grapefruit League game.<\/p>\n Reid-Foley said he previously had been \u201cputting a lot of pressure on myself to be healthy out of camp, to prove to them that they made the right decision tendering me this offseason, giving me that contract.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously a business decision was made.\u201d<\/p>\n Starling Marte (knee) could make his debut \u201cmaybe next week at some point,\u201d Mendoza said.<\/p>\n A.J. Minter (hip surgery) threw his second live batting practice of the spring.<\/p>\n Outfielder Carson Benge, last year\u2019s first-round pick, made his spring debut and struck out in his lone at-bat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Paul Blackburn, who is out of minor league options and due about $4 million this season, is a clear front-runner in the Mets\u2019 rotation battle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[44,17,50,780],"class_list":["post-39554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-sports","tag-spring-training"],"yoast_head":"\n![](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/new-york-mets-pitcher-paul-99432968.jpg?w=1024\")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"Sean](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/new-york-mets-pitcher-sean-99432967.jpg?w=1024\")
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