Mariners’ Matt Brash takes big step toward return from UCL tear

It was a most welcome sight Wednesday on the mound of Field 2 at the Seattle Mariners’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz.

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At 11:45 a.m., Matt Brash took the pitching mound and Ryan Bliss stepped up to the plate. On the other side of the fence directly behind home plate, a large contingent of front office members and players gathered to watch as Brash threw from a field mound for the first time since undergoing surgery last May to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow – with the added bonus of having hitters in the box.

Months of recovery, rehab and the slow buildup preceded the session that took all of six minutes to complete. As short as the outing was, however, it was no normal day on the mend at the park for Brash.

“I was a little nervous this morning, honestly,” he told reporters after. “And not because I was nervous how I was going to feel or anything light that. It’s just like excitement. Whenever you get a game, you can’t eat as much, you’re just kind of like ready to go. That’s how I felt which is really cool. To get that feeling back, it felt really cool.”

Brash has been throwing off the bullpen mounds all spring with trainers and pitching coaches choreographing each session, introducing different pitches and upping velocity in a slow, controlled manner. Two weeks ago he was permitted to throw 88-90 mph on one of the four mounds in the newly renovated bullpens just outside back doors of the complex.

Wednesday, Brash was given the green light to throw up to 94 mph. Bliss and Luke Raley were the scheduled hitters but told not to swing. This outing was more about getting the feel again for a field mound and batter. No matter, Brash saw it as an opportunity to finally be competitive again.

Matt Brash finishing his first live BP. Bliss and Raley were “no swing” and Brash was told to not throw 100 percent, still 93-95. Breaking ball looked good. “Super encouraging” said Justin Hollander. pic.twitter.com/WEzfXgRHbA

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“Always when you’re getting off the game mound, there’s just a little more juice and everything just comes out smoother,” he said. “I even got my adrenaline going for the first time in a while, so it was fun.”

Despite the velocity restriction, Brash did manage to sneak in a couple of 95s in what was actually a split session – 15-20 full-on pitches in the bullpen, then the same on the field.

“I wanted to pump it up a little more, but I kind of treated (the bullpen) like getting ready to go into the game. So both of them felt good. And I went into the game and I was letting it go pretty good – 95, not like full full, but I was giving it. It felt good.”

In addition to seeing the easy velocity, Brash did mix in some breaking balls that Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said looked good both to the eye and by the numbers. He termed the throwing session as “super encouraging.”

So what next? Brash’s hope is he will be able to return in late April. With the first session that was aimed at getting him comfortable in a game situation at a slower pace behind him, he looks forward to the opportunity to do more.

“I wasn’t throwing 100 or whatever, but I was still giving it pretty good,” he said. “So I think the next couple times, I’ll be kind of full-go and look forward to doing that.”

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