ATLANTA -- Dillon Gee insists he never concerned himself too much with whether he would be given another chance to start for the New York Mets. Still, he waited to sign a lease on a New York apartment until about 10 days ago, just to be safe, Gee confessed Friday afternoon.

When he did commit to a residence, though, he moved swiftly -- edging a teammate for a desirable rental.

Dillon Gee is due to earn $5.3 million this season. Jason O. Watson/Getty Images

Gee makes his season debut at 7:10 p.m. on Saturday, when he starts against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

There certainly were points in the past several months when it seemed this day would not materialize.

With Matt Harvey poised to re-enter the rotation and Gee seemingly an excess starter due to earn $5.3 million, the Mets made him available via trade during the winter. Then, even after Zack Wheeler was diagnosed with a ligament tear that required Tommy John surgery during spring training, the Mets did not swiftly name Gee as the rotation replacement. Team officials described the vacancy as a competition between Gee and prospect Rafael Montero. The first formal, public acknowledgement Gee would be in the rotation came on the game notes issued on Opening Day to the media.

Gee still could be traded at some point this month to clear a spot for Montero.

Asked if he ever doubted there would be another start for him with the Mets, Gee said: "I never really thought about it, to be honest with you. I didn't know one way or the other, but I'm here now. I guess I handled it the only way I knew I could -- just see what happens. It's out of my control. I knew it was a possibility, but I don't make those decisions, so I really don't fret about a lot of it. It's all water under the bridge now. I'm here and I'm about to pitch. That's why I don't think about it too much, because you never know how it's going to turn out.

"It was definitely a weird offseason and spring with the whole back and forth [relieving and starting] and the trade rumors and everything. It was definitely weird. But it didn't really bother me that much. I think I made it known that I saw myself as a starter, but if I wasn't going to be a starter, then so be it. If I got traded, so be it."

Gee said he normally secures accommodations in New York for the upcoming season midway through spring training. This time, though, he waited until a week or two ago to sign a lease, so that he did not get stuck with a huge expense if a trade did materialize and he had to break the commitment.

"Those things are expensive," he said.

Gee laughed recalling how he ended up beating teammate John Mayberry Jr. for a desired apartment. Mayberry was seated at a nearby locker Friday afternoon as Gee relayed the story, seemingly amused as well.

"I didn't know that it was him," Gee said. "And my realtor, the agent that I was using, said, 'Hey, some other guy is wanting it.' He said, 'It's whoever gets the deposit in first.' My realtor cut the check and [Mayberry] got shafted."