Adrian Houser, the Mets’ newly acquired starting pitcher, has some simple, plain-spoken goals for himself in his first year with the organization.
“I’m just gonna go out there every fifth day and give it my all,” Houser told SNY on Saturday.
“I’m gonna try and put the team in the best position to win the ballgame,” the 31-year-old said. “I wanna go six, seven eight [innings] whatever I can go and give the team the best chance.”
Even with former Milwaukee executive David Stearns coming over to the Mets and the Brewers entering into somewhat of a roster restructure, Houser said he was “surprised” by the trade.
“I was working on mobility and got a phone call and a whole bunch of texts from my wife,” he said about the news he was on the move to Queens five days before Christmas. The Mets acquired the right-hander and outfielder Tyrone Taylor for minor league right-hander Coleman Crow.
“It was kind of random, but figured it was a possibility going into my last year with the Brewers,” he continued. “I’m excited to be here, ready to get going and ready for everybody to get here and get camp going.”
Houser is likely to round out a rotation headlined by Kodai Senga, fellow newcomers Luis Severino and Sean Manaea and veteran Jose Quintana.
Ahead of his first season in New York, Houser said he is working on “honing everything down” during spring training.
“I was in a really good spot last year, I think we hammered some stuff down and were able to line out some things and that’s kinda what we were working on all offseason,” he said. “I think we’re in a really good spot coming into camp.”
Last season, Houser threw his sinker 47.2 percent of the time, with a four-seamer (23.8 percent) and slider (16.6 percent) making up the majority of his arsenal.
In his final year with the Brew Crew, he pitched to a 4.12 ERA (3.99 FIP) over 23 appearances (21 of them starts) over 111.1 innings. He did strike out 96 batters while allowing 121 hits and walked 34 for a 1.392 WHIP.
Over his last three seasons, Houser has pitched 356.1 innings with a 3.94 ERA for a marginally above-average 106 ERA+ while averaging 23 starts per year.
For personal expectations in 2024, the veteran doesn’t care much for himself, his goal is team-orientated.
“Hopefully we can get to the World Series,” he said. “That’s the main goal. I don’t care about anything about me, I just want the team to win and hopefully, I can do the best I can to help the team win as many games as possible.”
