This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. MLB.com reporter Bill Ladson contributed to this edition. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

A couple of days after throwing a complete-game shutout against the Marlins, his first since May 2, 2018, Mets right-hander Luis Severino answered a wide range of topics: from his injury-filled seasons from 2019-23 to his comeback in ‘24.

MLB.com: After you pitched the complete game against Miami, who was the first person you thought of?

Luis Severino: My entire family – mom and dad, my kids, my wife – who have been with me through this whole process. Bad season, good season. The people that stuck with me. Not only that, the Mets fans. They have been really good to me. I think that outing was like a playoff game to me. Everybody was yelling my name. They wanted me to do well for the team. It was one of those games where you go out there to compete like a walk-off game. Something like that.

MLB.com: What advice did your family give you while you were going through the bad times?

Severino: My wife is the person who has always been with me. She knows every part of my body that hurts. … I think our faith is the most important thing for us, so she always believed that no matter what happened, I would always come back to get better. I've seen the trust that she has in me.

MLB.com: After the game, you and manager Carlos Mendoza had this really big hug. What does he mean to you?

Severino: He means a lot to me. He is not just a manager, but Carlos is more like a friend, a person that I’ve known for a long time. He knows me and he knows the struggles I’ve been through because I was with him [in the Yankees organization] during those struggles. He is a guy that I want on my side when I’m out there competing. … Having him here is unbelievable. I feel more comfortable on a new team because of somebody that I know.

MLB.com: Health has been an issue from 2019-23. What did you do this offseason to make sure you stayed healthy?

Severino: I changed a lot of things – my work habits. I was a guy who would go into the offseason just [lifting] weights, like, [getting] bigger and bigger. This offseason, I approached it a little bit differently. I want to be more athletic on the mound. … Sleeping is helping me a lot. My habits were really bad. I was barely sleeping five hours a night. For a baseball player, that’s not good.

I went to Florida and trained with personal trainer Joe Murphy. He told me about a sleep doctor. He put me in contact with her. We have a session and then I sleep with a couple of things on my chest for three days. She told me what I could do to feel better, gave me a couple of tips like drinking … juice and not watching TV [after 10 p.m.] That really helped me.

MLB.com: The thing I noticed about you is, when things went wrong on the mound, you acknowledged it. You never hid from the media. You were always gracious to us. Why?

Severino: That was the way I was raised. You guys have a job to do and I appreciate that. My job here is to answer you guys. It doesn’t matter if I have a good day or a bad day. … I’m not a liar. So when they asked me something, I told the truth.

MLB.com: When things were going badly for you last year, you were right in front of the media saying what was on your mind.

Severino: My mind was not happy about it. At that moment, I was feeling I was not good enough to be what I was. That anger that I had in me, I had to tell somebody about it. That’s what I did. That helped me during the offseason. I wanted to work my ass off so I won’t feel the same way again.

MLB.com: You also added three pitches to your arsenal. Why?

Severino: I talked to a lot of people and the main thing I heard from hitters was, I didn’t do enough inside – righties and lefties. So I said, 'I need a sinker. I need a pitch to go into righties. And I needed to add a cutter to go into lefties.' A sweeper is one of those pitches that nobody is hitting right now. So I said, 'I’m going to work on those three pitches.' I went to Driveline [in Kent, Wash.] to work on my sweeper. I worked on a couple of grips. I went back to Tampa and I worked on my sinker and cutter. That’s what I was working on all offseason.

MLB.com: You have pitched 142 2/3 innings going into your next start. How badly do you want to reach 200 innings for the first time in your career?

Severino: I would really be happy if I did that. After having all the health problems, that would be amazing. I know that I did my work during the offseason to get there. I feel good right now. So, hopefully, we can continue to do it. If I reach 200, I’m having a great season.

MLB.com: You are one of 163 players to play for the Mets and Yankees. What is the difference between the two clubs?

Severino: For me, it’s the pressure. The Yankees have more pressure because they have to win the division every year. With the Mets, here we have two good teams in the division in the Phillies and Atlanta. … With the playoffs, you don’t have to win the division. If you make it in the Wild Card, we are in a good spot.

MLB.com: You signed a one-year deal. How much do you want to come back to the Mets next year?

Severino: I would love to be here next year. But in the end, it’s business and my agent will say where the best [place] to go [is]. But I would love to come back and stay here.