PORT ST. LUCIE — Carlos Mendoza had heard about Nate Lavender “a lot” since being named Mets manager, a young lefty whose stuff intrigues the club.
It took one game and three hitters for Lavender to justify the buzz.
The young Mets reliever faced three hitters and struck out each in Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener, about as strong a first impression as possible.
“I just want to go out there and throw strikes, see what happens,” Lavender said after the 10-5 loss to the Cardinals at Clover Park. “And it worked.”
Lavender entered in the eighth inning and threw 14 pitches — 11 strikes — to St. Louis’ Mike Antico, Moises Gomez and Nick Raposo. The trio swung seven times, fouling off three balls and whiffing four times. Two sinkers and a four-seamer, none that reached 93 mph, accounted for the punchouts.
The 24-year-old has below-average velocity and an above-average ability to spin the ball. Lavender consistently induces swings-and-misses on low-90s fastballs that he spots in the strike zone but can be hard to spot for hitters: He relies heavily on deception.
“He’s got that fastball — it seems like hitters are having a hard time picking it up,” Mendoza said.
Lavender messes with his delivery — holding his right knee in the air at different intervals — after picking up the maneuver in throwing programs.
And yes, this soft-tossing, delivery-altering southpaw for a New York ballclub was inspired by the one across town.
“I was like, ‘Hey, if Nestor Cortes can do it, why can’t I sort of incorporate something in there?’ ” Lavender said. “And I think it just found its way into my outings, and I’ve had some success with it.”
The Mets have been short on southpaws the past few seasons, and this year Brooks Raley and Jake Diekman are the only sure bets as lefty relievers for Opening Day. The odds of Lavender, who is not on the 40-man roster, making the team out of camp are long, but a solid spring would help his debut come sooner.
In 54 ¹/₃ innings split between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse last year, Lavender posted a 2.98 ERA with 86 strikeouts. A 14th-round pick out of the University of Illinois in 2021, Lavender represents what the club hopes will be a development success story, which have been rare in recent seasons for Mets relievers.
Maybe Lavender can usher in change with an arsenal that is fairly unique.
“I think it’s just: There’s will behind it,” Lavender said about a four-seam fastball that averaged 91.3 mph. “I like to say [if] you throw 92 with a little doubt in there, it’s probably going to get hit pretty hard. If you throw 92 with some grit and some intention behind it, you’re going to be all right.”