TORONTO — Steve Delabar completed a long, winding odyssey Tuesday night, returning to a major league mound for the first time in almost a year. He hopes it’s where he’ll stay.
“It felt good,” Delabar said the day after his first outing for the Blue Jays since last June. “Just sticking to what I do, keeping the ball down, making pitches, trying to get big league hitters out—it all felt really good.”
Delabar was an American League all-star in 2013, posting a 3.22 ERA and striking out 82 batters over 58.2 workmanlike innings for the Blue Jays. His FIP (a measure of what a pitcher’s ERA would be with league average defence playing behind them) was 2.72, which suggests he was actually even better than his results indicated.
But then came 2014, when Delabar’s fastball lost a bit of steam and his splitter lost a bit of sink. His strikeout rate fell, as his walk rate rose. He gave up homers more frequently and, to borrow a bit of manager-speak, struggled to get batters out.
His ERA ballooned to 4.91; his FIP to 5.59. The Blue Jays sent him to the minors and left him there for the rest of the season, deciding against making the veteran a September call-up.
Instead, Toronto’s front office told the 31-year-old to go home and get some rest (perhaps a blessing in disguise as Delabar’s son was born on the last day of the regular season). He was dealing with a pair of barking knee injuries — nothing that would have kept him off the mound, but enough discomfort to affect his delivery. The thought was that Delabar had logged so much work in 2013 that he needed extra time to fully recover and, ideally, return this season as the pitcher he once was.
He looked fine if not spectacular throughout 2015 spring training, but near the end of camp the Blue Jays made a surprise move and optioned Delabar back to the minor leagues, opting instead to go north with unproven rookies Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna pitching out of the bullpen.
Delabar was incensed. He thought he’d done everything the team had asked and wasn’t satisfied with the reasoning he was given for his demotion. But once he collected his thoughts, he reported to the Buffalo Bisons and made nine appearances, allowing just four hits and one run.
Delabar’s performance and — just as importantly — his resolve, were primary factors in why he was finally called back up to the Blue Jays earlier this week to take the place of Castro, the man who had beaten him for a spot this spring.
“I don’t think Steve ever doubted himself, to be honest. Last year he just wasn’t getting the results. The stuff dropped off,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says. “I don’t think he ever doubts himself. He’s come too far from what he’s been through to get here. He’s pretty strong mentally. He’s battled adversity his whole career. This is just another challenge for Del, you know?”
His first appearance for the Blue Jays Tuesday night went great. He needed just 14 pitches to get through his four batters, mixing in all three of his offerings for strikes. His fastball was hard, averaging 95 mph and touching 96, a positive sign after his velocity diminished last season.
Both his splitter and slider were working as well; he earned groundouts with each, locating the pitches down in the zone. In all, the outing went about as smoothly as anyone could have hoped. If Delabar can continue pitching like he did on Tuesday, he could be a tremendously helpful piece for Gibbons’ over-taxed, under-experienced bullpen.
But while Delabar was happy with his ability to locate and ramp up on his fastball, he summed up his outing in much simpler terms.
“Location’s big, but when you get outs it really doesn’t matter how you get them,” Delabar said. “I might be the only guy who’s ever going to say this, but I really don’t care how I get guys out. As long as they’re not trotting around the bases, I’m good.”
The main focus for Delabar now is much simpler than trying to find velocity or pinpoint his control. He’s just wants to get back to being a major leaguer, to being the pitcher he knows he can be.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m just preparing myself each day to go out there and be ready when my name’s called,” Delabar said. “I’m not trying to overdo anything. I’m not trying to do anything different or better. I’m just trying to be a quality pitcher. Just get ahead and attack hitters. That’s it.”
