PORT ST. LUCIE - Last year, Mark Canha arrived to his first spring training as a Met lighter than usual.
As it turns out, Canha was dealing with gastritis, which is inflammation of the stomach lining. As a result, the outfielder had a much skinnier frame, struggling to eat because it would cause him to get a stomachache afterward.
"I was lighter last year at the beginning because I had trouble eating and feeling good," Canha told Inside the Mets.
"I’d often times eat and then get a stomachache for long amounts of time. It was hard for me to get calories and be comfortable, so a lot of times I wouldn’t eat very much because I was afraid of getting a stomachache.”
Fortunately, Canha's gastritis subsided and now he is back to feeling healthy again. Canha says his goal is to hit 10 more home runs this season and he is hoping the muscle mass he put on in the offseason will help him accomplish this feat.
“I’d like to think my body composition changed from last year and (I) maybe got a little more muscle mass," Canha said.
In his first season as a Met, Canha slashed .266/.367/.403 with a .770 OPS, 13 home runs and 61 RBIs in 140 games.
This year, he is eyeing 20-25 home runs and it should help that gastritis is no longer hampering his body composition.
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