Mets’ Luis Severino’s first spring outing ‘a good sign,’ says manager

Mets starter Luis Severino was given an option: Continue the slow build or face big league hitters immediately.

As expected, Severino chose the latter, and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was all for it.

“(Severino’s choice) tells you that the way he’s feeling, that he wanted to come over here and face some big league hitters,” Mendoza told reporters, via SNY. “So that’s a good sign.”

Originally Severino was slated to throw live batting practice again before tossing a minor league game in the back fields of the team’s spring training complex. That was the plan after his first live BP session, where he touched 96 mph on Sunday.

Instead, Severino took the mound against the Cardinals on Friday. He threw 30 pitches (18 strikes) over two scoreless innings and didn’t allow a baserunner while striking out one. He also touched 97.8 mph against his final batter, former Yankees teammate Matt Carpenter.

Severino laughed when asked if he was saving that heater for his last batter.

“I had some in the tank,” Severino told reporters, via SNY. “You know, just waiting for the perfect time to do it.”

It was the fastest pitch thrown in the Mets’ 3-2 loss to St. Louis, according to Statcast. But it wasn’t the only pitch Severino utilized in his arsenal.

Most notably, the 6-foot-2 right-hander utilized his sinker, which he went to 37% of the time against the Cardinals. Severino first used the sinker in 2022. That season he threw it just 1% of the time. In 2023, he increased its usage to 2.4%.

“It was good, I think I need to work more on it,” he said, via SNY. “I think it was dropping a lot of depth instead of moving in. But that’s not bad, that’s not terrible. I just need to work more on location.”

Severino warned against expecting this to become a new norm for him. The increase in use was simply a matter of him wanting to “practice” the pitch in front of opposing hitters, and what better time than spring training to do so?

“It’s not a main…