PORT ST. LUCIE — Chris Young isn’t ready to say goodbye to baseball.
Though the veteran right-hander barely has pitched over the last two seasons, he would like to believe his surgically repaired right shoulder is strong and capable of helping the Mets.
Young reported to camp yesterday after signing a minor league deal with the club earlier in the week. According to a team source, Young won’t be ready to begin pitching in the minors until mid-May at the earliest.
“Having tasted the success and being part of a team environment and all the fun stuff that comes along with it, I wanted to be a part of it and I believe that I can,” said Young, who was 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts for the Mets last season before undergoing surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his right shoulder.
Young — who is 49-34 with a 3.74 ERA in his eight-season, injury-plagued career — said he has thrown from a mound nine times and feels strong. He said the fact he didn’t sign earlier has allowed him to pace himself.
“You get in a baseball environment and you start pushing things and I didn’t want to be in that situation,” Young said. “I wanted to make sure when I signed it was the right timing for my shoulder recovery, because that’s the most important part.”
* Jon Niese allowed two earned runs on five hits over six innings in the Mets’ 3-2 exhibition loss to the Nationals. The left-hander said he expects his final spring tune-up to come next Tuesday against the Yankees.
* Lucas Duda’s sizzling spring continued with a 2-for-4 performance that included an RBI triple. Duda is batting .325 this exhibition season with a team-leading four homers and nine RBIs.
* On the flipside, Jason Bay returned to the lineup three days after getting drilled in the right forearm by a Stephen Strasburg heater. Bay went 0-for-3 and is batting .212 for the spring without an RBI. … Scott Hairston made his Grapefruit League debut and went 0-for-3 as the center fielder. Hairston, who had battled a strained oblique, said he expects to be ready for Opening Day.