PEORIA, Ariz. — Sweat from an afternoon in the Arizona sun had soaked the light teal of his spring training cap.
However, Matt Brash’s cap and undershirt were soaked with a different type of sweat. This wasn’t perspiration from conditioning exercises. This was—sort of—from competition. And on a baseball field, it’s still the greatest way to perspire.
“It’s the good kind,” he replied.
Along with front office staff and pitching coaches, a sizable crowd of fans gathered around Field 2 of the Mariners complex to witness Brash’s return from season-ending elbow surgery and another significant milestone in his recuperation.
Brash faced hitters on the mound of a baseball field for the first time since April of the previous season. After having the Tommy John brace procedure in early May, he threw his first live batting practice.
“Getting off the game mound is always better,” he stated. Everything just comes out smoother and there’s a bit more juice. For the first time in a long time, I even felt my adrenaline pumping. It was enjoyable.
To be honest, when Brash woke up Wednesday morning, he felt a little butterflies. He didn’t experience that when he was throwing bullpen sessions every three days to strengthen his arms.
“I was a little nervous this morning, honestly,” he said. “It’s not because I was nervous that I was going to feel something or anything like that. It was just like excitement. Whenever you have a game, you can’t eat as much and you’re just kind of ready to go. And that’s how I felt, which is really cool, to get that feeling back.”
How long had he felt that way?
He stated, “Not since the 2023 season.” “And that little apprehension and excitement of getting to compete is the feeling you want as a player.”
This was not your average live batting practice. Luke Raley and Ryan Bliss were told not to swing.
Meanwhile, the pitching coaches didn’t want Brash to go into full compete mode and start ripping fastballs and sliders at maximum effort. They wanted him to graduate from bullpen sessions to a game mound incrementally with the mindset of staying smooth in his delivery and not overexerting to throw. The plan was for him to keep his fastball velocity — four-seam and two-seam — in the 93-94 mph range while throwing his breaking pitches to get a feel for them.
Brash’s fastballs were in that 93-94 mph range, with his last few hitting 95 mph, drawing excited chatter from the Mariners staff. But it was the slider and knuckle curve that might have been more impressive. Brash showed unexpected feel and command with the breaking pitches, while the spin rates were at similar RPMs (revolutions per minute) as in 2023, which is a big plus.
“I threw them for strikes early in counts,” Brash said. “And then I had a couple two-strike counts, so I kind of bounced my curveball at the back foot, and then I threw a good slider down away to a righty. So that’s coming back great. My slider feels really great. I’m really happy with it. It’s coming out nice. And the velo on it was pretty good. The feel has (been) coming back really nice.”
While Brash is highly competitive, he was able to maintain his focus and not let the adrenaline overcome him. He’s following the guidance of the training staff and staying within their parameters. He knows this is just a step in the lengthy process and there are still more outings ahead.
“I wasn’t full-full, but I was still letting it go a little,” Brash said of his effort. “I know I wasn’t throwing 100 or whatever, but I was still giving it pretty good. So I think the next couple times, I’ll be kind of full go and I look forward to that.”
What’s next for Brash?
Assuming he feels good after his most recent outing, he could either have another bullpen to bump up his velocity again or he could face hitters again in a full live batting practice session.
