In a roughly 10-minute chat with reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Chiga mentioned his physical condition in almost every answer. He said the word "healthy" nearly a dozen times, showing confidence that he could achieve it. The day was the day before the pitchers and catchers had their first official training sessions at Clover Park.

"This year," Chiga said through an interpreter, "I'm looking forward to staying healthy and pitching a lot of innings so we can go far in the playoffs." ”

The Mets also have reason to be optimistic. Just in 2023, in his first season in the major leagues, Chiga made 29 starts, pitched 166.1 innings, and remained in form until September. In Japan, he has pitched 180.1 innings in one season.

However, Chiga's condition deteriorated rapidly last year, starting with a strained right posterior capsule during spring training. He suffered multiple setbacks in his attempts at rehab and spent weeks tweaking his pitching mechanics, much to the frustration of some team officials who couldn't understand why the rehab was progressing so slowly. Chiga finally returned on July 26 and shot 5.1 innings against the Warriors, but strained her left calf while defending and missed the rest of the regular season.

Chiga's unexpected comeback in the playoffs turned out to be a bit anticlimactic. He shot well against the Phillies but had a terrible run against the Dodgers in both games, although his performance in Los Angeles wasn't the only problem for the Mets. Eventually, Chiga returned home with countless questions about his health.

Chiga said it wasn't until early January that he felt completely back to normal.

"The offseason was kind of like half rehabilitation, half normal, but everything was precisely recorded," he said. "I feel good."

The Mets didn't take Chiga's words lightly. In the offseason, pitcher coach Jeremy Hefner and several team trainers traveled to Japan to work with him. Head coach Carlos Mendoza said part of the task was to make sure everyone was on the same page about Chiga's fitness and the strategy to keep him playing. Mendoza insists – as he did last season – that he has never had any problems during Chiga's recovery, but apparently there have been times when communication has been lacking.

That won't happen this season.

"It's a two-way street," Mendoza said, "and we're going to keep it that way." ”

When it comes to Chiga's health, the Mets aren't just praying. They plan to use more of a six-man starting rotation, in part because they believe it will give Chiga the extra rest he needs so he can perform at his best. When the right-hand pitcher first joined the Mets on a five-year, $75 million contract, team officials worked hard to get his pitching program as close to a Japanese-style weekly schedule as possible. Their investment in rotation depth should help them maintain a similar plan for the regular season — and possibly even longer.

Now, Chiga is in his third year of contract and has effectively lost the ability to tear up his contract because he doesn't have enough innings to trigger his early termination clause. Regardless of his fitness, he will continue to play for the Mets for the next three seasons.

With that in mind, the Mets have every reason to care deeply about Chiga's success. Another reason is what he represents – a player who has shown potential as a true ace pitcher at some point in 2023. The Mets don't have a clear number one pitcher at the moment, even if Sean Manaea looks like a qualified candidate. What they have is a pitcher with a fast ball that can reach speeds of over 95 miles per hour and a pitcher that is considered the hardest to hit in the league. (Since Chiga entered the league, opponents have batted just 0.112 for his "ghost finger crossball.") ）

The original conditions for Chiga to become an ace pitcher remained. But those conditions were also present last year, when Chiga completed just 16 exits in the regular season — and in the end, it was just a tantalizing reminder of his best form.

"It was a great five innings," Mendoza said. "You watch him pitch and it's like, 'Oh my gosh, this is real.'" It would be of great significance if we could have a healthy Chiga. You saw it in 2023. I also saw it briefly last year. This can be very special. ”