PORT ST. LUCIE — Michael Cuddyer might want to save a few for the regular season.
The veteran outfielder arrived to the Mets this winter with a track record for hitting home runs, and his start to this Grapefruit League season has only underscored that potential, when healthy.
“I feel good,” said Cuddyer, who leads the club with five homers in 37 at-bats this spring. “My legs feel good and my body feels good and I’m ready for the season to start.”
The Mets haven’t exactly hit the jackpot signing free-agent hitters in recent years, with Jason Bay, Chris Young and Curtis Granderson the biggest disappointments of the bunch. Granderson is having a huge spring — as his 1.179 OPS would suggest — and still has three years remaining on his contract to change the narrative.
But the Mets are hopeful the 35-year-old Cuddyer, who is signed to a two-year deal worth $21 million, won’t need an adjustment period.
“Michael has done to our lineup what we have hoped he would,” manager Terry Collins said. “He gives us a guy in the middle of the lineup who has got some power, is a good hitter, has got some preparation and I think it has been big.”
Collins can’t complain about his lineup this spring. The Mets have averaged nearly six runs over their first 22 exhibition games and out-homered opponents 26-17.
The caveat: It’s spring training, and often difficult to figure out what is real.
“The fact we are scoring runs, it builds confidence,” Cuddyer said. “But does that mean there is going to be a direct correlation to what happens during the season? Who knows?”
Cuddyer played just 49 games with the Rockies last season because of injuries. He fractured his left shoulder in June diving for a ball in a rare appearance at third base, and after returning in August pulled a hamstring for the second time in the season and needed a third disabled-list stint in 2014.
In the clubhouse, Cuddyer has quickly become popular, entertaining teammates with card tricks and offering sage advice to the younger players.
The fact Cuddyer is a longtime friend of David Wright — the two grew up in Chesapeake, Va. — has perhaps helped him earn instant credibility with his new teammates.
“Whenever there is a fishing outing or a dinner, I’m always invited, which is nice,” Cuddyer said. “You don’t see that very often. Guys like to feel you out before they start inviting you to their close circles of friends and the things that they do, and that hasn’t been the case here. I’ve been accepted right from Day 1 and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Collins is asking him to learn a new position along the way, switching from right field to left, but Cuddyer said it hasn’t been an issue.
“I am starting to get a few more balls hit to me, which has been good,” Cuddyer said. “But the biggest thing has been just getting out there and seeing the game from the left side of the field. Even if I don’t get plays, that is still helpful.”
This spring, Cuddyer has shuffled between left field, first base and DH. Most importantly, he has anchored the middle of the lineup.
“He’s a calm guy,” Collins said. “He has a game plan and he talks about it. He’s added a lot to us.”