PORT ST. LUCIE — Matt den Dekker appeared comfortable against major league pitching over the final two months of last season, but faces a long road to sticking with the Mets this spring.
Den Dekker and Kirk Nieuwenhuis are the primary candidates for the fifth outfield spot, and the fact Nieuwenhuis is without minor league options makes him the strong favorite for the job.
But manager Terry Collins is ready to take a good look at both players, specifically coming off the bench, once the exhibition season begins.
"Which one of those two guys is going to be able to come off that bench as a pinch-hitter?" Collins said Friday. "Because … the best closers in our division are all right-handed. So certainly a left-handed hitter off that bench is going to be a big piece. We've got to get some offense from one of those two guys."
Den Dekker hit .290 over the final two months of last season and continues to impress the Mets with his strong defensive play.
"I know if I'm up in the big leagues I'm going to be counted on to come off the bench and be able to play whether it's defense or pinch hitting," den Dekker said.
"I've got to be ready for that. Just when I go out there, have good at-bats, and I think that last month really showed me that I can do that and play at this level and be successful."
Noah Syndergaard threw from a mound with hitters in the box who weren't permitted to swing, and indicated he was unhappy with his mechanics.
The right-hander shouted an expletive at one point.
"I was a little frustrated," Syndergaard said. "I'm trying to work on a couple of things here and there on mechanics, being a little quicker to home plate, in all aspects, even if there are no runners on base and I'm throwing from the windup."
Syndergaard said he felt loose, but the ball wasn't going where he wanted it.
He is scheduled to follow Matt Harvey on Friday in the Mets' exhibition home opener against the Tigers. The Mets' first Grapefruit League game is Wednesday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., against the Braves.
David Wright, Michael Cuddyer, Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy will sit for the first few exhibition games in an effort to ease them into the spring. The club is concerned about oblique/rib-cage injuries in spring training.
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