Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Daisuke Matsuzaka is “seemingly locked” in as the Mets’ fifth starter.
Terry Collins is not totally committing yet, saying after yesterday’s solid Dice-K outing that his competition,Jenrry Mejia, is still “in the mix,” but Collins also alluded to Matsuzaka’s veteran status — “he’s done it before and he’s done it a lot” — gives him an edge.
Mejia has put up better spring numbers than Matsuzaka overall, but each had strong outings their last time out. So I guess recency + a few gray hairs around the temples = the fifth starter’s job.