Rain washed away the Mets’ spring training game against the Houston Astros on Wednesday — and pushed back potential Opening Day starter Jose Quintana’s turn in the rotation.
Quintana had been scheduled to start the afternoon road game in West Palm Beach, Fla., which was briefly delayed before being canceled altogether.
The left-handed Quintana is now expected to start Thursday against the Washington Nationals at the Mets’ Clover Park, with Luis Severino sliding back to pitch Friday on the road against the Miami Marlins.
Quintana, 35, allowed two runs in 1.2 innings in his first start of the spring last week on the road against Houston.
“Overall, he was OK,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after that outing. “It was one of those outings where he goes out there to work on certain pitches, with the two-seam being one of them. He threw a good pitch to [Jose] Abreu and struck him out.”
With ace Kodai Senga set to miss the start of the season with a shoulder strain, the veteran Quintana could be in line to start the Mets’ regular-season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 28 at Citi Field.
Last spring, Quintana was diagnosed with a rib legion. He didn’t debut until late July and ultimately pitched to a 3-6 record and a 3.57 ERA over 13 starts.
SENGA MAKES PROGRESS
The Mets continue to express optimism about Senga’s shoulder, with Mendoza on Wednesday describing the early stages of the right-hander’s rehab as “so far, so good.”
“He’s strengthening that shoulder,” Mendoza said. “He’s continuing to say that he’s feeling good, progressing well with the limited activity he’s doing. A lot of shoulder exercises.”
Senga received a platelet-rich plasma injection in late February for the strain in the posterior capsule of his right shoulder. At the time, the Mets shut down Senga’s throwing for three weeks.
The Japanese-born Senga recorded a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 166.1 innings during his debut MLB season in 2023.
Mendoza has said the Mets don’t expect Senga’s injury to be a long-term issue.
“We’ll wait until he starts playing catch and all that, but as of right now, he’s moving in the right direction,” Mendoza said Wednesday.
RAIN DELAYS FUJINAMI
Wednesday was supposed to mark the first appearance this spring by reliever Shintaro Fujinami, who recently returned from his native Japan after dealing with a personal issue there.
The rain cancellation changes those plans.
The hard-throwing right-hander, who struggled with walks en route to a 7.18 ERA over 64 appearances with the Oakland A’s and Baltimore Orioles last season, joined the Mets in the offseason on a one-year, $3.35 million deal with incentives.
