HOUSTON – Dave Williams went to the Mets’ minicamp hoping to win a spot in the rotation in 2007. But he woke up with neck pain one morning there, and his timetable was delayed – though not derailed.
Williams, who had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck on January 31, joined the Mets here and was scheduled to throw a side session yesterday in preparation for a likely Sunday start against the Astros. The Mets won’t activate him, however, until they are certain they will need him Sunday.
The 28-year-old left-hander was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in two rehab starts for Triple-A New Orleans after making one start for Class-A St. Lucie. Prior to returning to action, he was in a neck collar for six weeks.
“That was probably the worst part,” Williams said before last night’s game with the Astros. “Once I got out of that and I could move a little bit, nothing was better than that. Even if I couldn’t pitch.”
Williams was 3-1 with a 5.59 ERA in six games (five starts) for the Mets last season.
Willie Randolph said he could be a long relief candidate in the long term. However, with both Jorge Sosa and Oliver Perez landing on the disabled list within the last week, the Mets badly needed a starter.
“We had some other options, but Williams after the outing he had earlier this week and the way he recovered from that – the reports from our Triple-A staff were all positive – it made sense,” assistant GM John Ricco said.
Asked if he had any after-effects from the surgery, Williams said: “Just range of motion. I wouldn’t say [the neck is] stiff or anything like that. Which is fine, as long as I can look to the plate.”
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Lastings Milledge was moved to Double-A Binghamton in time to play a rehab game last night. Rain has been plaguing Port St. Lucie, Fla., and his previous three rehab games had been rained out.
“He’s been pain free, which is a good sign,” Ricco said. “But we’ll know more in the next few days.”
Milledge is recovering from a strained ligament in the top of his right foot that necessitated. With Carlos Gomez placed on the DL yesterday, speculation is that Milledge could be the long-term solution. However, Ricco hinted that he wouldn’t be up before the second half begins.
“He’s really got to get himself in baseball shape,” Ricco said.
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Randolph said he hasn’t set the rotation for after the break. He said if he had to guess, Perez would return to the rotation before Sosa. Randolph doesn’t expect either starting pitcher to miss much time. Outfielder Endy Chavez, though, is still “a couple weeks away,” the manager said.