Seth Lugo has capitalized on starting chance after Mets disappointment

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Seth Lugo never stopped telling the Mets that he could be a good starting pitcher.

Luis Rojas — who first managed Lugo in the Mets minor league system in 2013, and later again in Queens in 2020 and 2021 — believed those words long before the indisputable proof of the past two seasons, leading into the biggest start of his career Wednesday for the Royals against the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS.

“He became one of those elite bullpen guys in baseball — a multiple-inning guy, even a closer at times,” Rojas told The Post during batting practice. “But he was always pushing to be a starter. I remember having those conversations with him.”

Rojas watched from afar as Lugo capitalized when the Padres let him start last season then elevated to Cy Young Award candidate by going 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA and 206 strikeouts for the Royals.

He had an up-close view Wednesday as Yankees third base coach.

“From a health standpoint, we knew it was better for him and we were trying to find a spot, but we just didn’t have it at the time with the Mets,” Rojas said. “We were planning ahead that eventually he would be, but we could also use him in the bullpen. I’m glad he got the opportunity, and he showed what he can do. I can speak for a lot of people who were advocating for him to start as well, it doesn’t really surprise me.”

Lugo earned a telling nickname among his Royals teammates.

“He attacks hitters with all 27 pitches he has,” shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. quipped. “I call him ‘The Surgeon’ because he’s attacking, dicing up hitters. It’s a lot of fun to see and play defense behind him [with] how consistent he’s been throughout the entire year.”

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Rojas advocated for Lugo to transition to the rotation at Robert Gsellman’s expense in the shortened 2020 season, but his success as a reliever didn’t translate.

Opposing batters hit .296 with seven home runs in 120 plate appearances and his ERA ballooned to 6.15.

“It was a tough spot for him because he started in the bullpen and was trying to stretch out in the middle of a season,” Rojas said. “But he asked me to do it and we did it.”

It was back to the bullpen for 46 appearances in 2021.

“He’s a really smart person,” Rojas said. “He would script his outings. Think of what he was going to do with each hitter and adjust in the middle of the game if he needed to. I thought that was special. There’s not a lot of guys who do that: They will write down what a hitter’s tendencies are, but not what they are going to do to him. That drew my attention.”

Michael Wacha has been teammates with Lugo in New York, San Diego and Kansas City.

He remembers Lugo always preparing like a starter who can “spin the crap out of the ball.”

The Mets’ loss could be a Yankees’ thorn in this series, even possibly out of the bullpen in a Game 5.

“He’s a guy that’s always going to have conviction in what he wants to do to a hitter,” Rojas said. “He’s a competitor, and we’re looking forward to a tough challenge.”