QUEENS, NY — Starting pitcher Christian Scott threw from 75 feet on Tuesday at Citi Field before the Mets’ series opener against the Oakland Athletics.
The 25-year-old right-hander, who is on the injured list due to a sprained UCL in his right elbow, began throwing on Sunday, which was at 60 feet. Tuesday was the second time he has thrown off of flat ground since being cleared to resume baseball activities, maintaining that everything in his elbow feels “good,” after manager Carlos Mendoza revealed that he was “symptom-free” on Sunday.
“You just have to go out and attack it every day,” Scott said. “You can be sad and sulk about it, but no one really cares about that. It’s about going out and trying to feel better and putting your body in the best position you possibly can.”
The current plan is to stretch Scott out to 90 feet on Wednesday from flat ground with no estimated timetable on when he can begin throwing from a mound or think about rehab outings.
“It’s day by day right now,” Scott said. “Hopefully throw 90 feet tomorrow. Hopefully, work in offspeed pitches coming up pretty soon here and then off the mound after that. Just taking it day by day. I don’t have the exact timeframe of games, bullpen, mounds, or anything like that. Just felt good today and I’ll throw tomorrow and we’ll see how it feels then.”
Mendoza added that the final hurdle before potentially graduating off flat ground is to throw from 120 feet “with intensity.”
“We’re still a few days, weeks away before he gets on the mound,” Mendoza said. “But he’s throwing and he’s feeling good.”
Scott made his major-league debut on May 4 and has made nine starts in the bigs between another stint in Triple-A. He was 0-3 with a 4.56 ERA before complaining of discomfort in his pitching arm during a July 21 start against the Miami Marlins.
Testing ruled out the threat of surgery, but the Mets placed him on the 15-day a day later.
