NORTH PORT, Fla. ― Many times, pitchers who experience long layoffs due to injury face this question: How confident are you that you can get back to being the guy you were before the injuries?
Nick Anderson, on the other hand, is trying to do the opposite of that.
“Something that I kind of really had to work on this offseason was just relaxing and not necessarily trying to get back to that guy,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Trying to chase who you were before or how things felt before kind of can lead you down not necessarily the best path.”
Sure, Anderson hopes to be his best again.
But he understands he can’t do it by desperately trying to replicate the past.
What did I used to do? How did I used to feel? Upon returning from a UCL brace procedure last season, Anderson, a right-handed reliever, often asked himself these questions as he searched to be what he had been. “I was trying everything possible last year to try and get myself kind of back,” he said. Nothing worked.
“It makes baseball not really fun,” Anderson said. “It makes it not fun; it makes you not really want to be there.”
In 2021, Anderson underwent the elbow procedure to repair a torn UCL. In his words, he repaired it instead of reconstructing it – he could’ve opted to undergo Tommy John surgery. But he only decided on the surgery after spending almost a year trying to rehab the injury to avoid a procedure, which frustrated him because it amounted to wasted time.
Anderson hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since 2021. In 2022, he returned from his rehab and tossed 17 ⅓ innings in the minors. He posted a 5.19 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.
Last summer, Anderson felt the weight of his struggles. “I need to go back (to Minnesota),” he thought to himself. “Just go back and do what I used to do.” He’s from Minnesota and has always spent his offseasons there. He throws with a buddy and works out on his own.
So he did that. He went back to Minnesota after the season and reverted to the routine he used before his injury. “No eyes on me, nothing,” he said. Just him and his old routine.
“It’s just one of those things: If it’s not broke, why try to fix it?” Anderson said. “It’s what always worked.”
It’s what he did in the offseason leading into 2019, when he debuted and had a 3.32 ERA over 65 innings for the Marlins and Rays. He did it again in the offseason before 2020, when he eventually surrendered only one run over 16 ⅓ innings during the condensed season.
“I remember a couple years ago (in 2019), I know he was in trade conversations at the deadline – he was throwing really, really well for the Marlins,” manager Brian Snitker recalled. “He was a guy that I know we were interested in. He’s been hurt now (since then), but the ball’s coming out pretty good right now in what we’ve seen. He’s an interesting guy because I’ve got good memories of watching him and what he could do.”
Anderson opted for the UCL brace procedure instead of Tommy John surgery because of the faster recovery timetable. Eventually, he came to peace with the wasted year before that. “Why dwell on the past?” he said. “It’s not gonna do anything for you.” Now he’s in camp with the Braves on a split contract that’ll pay him $875,000 if he’s in the majors and $180,000 if he’s in the minors.
He said he’s not even thinking about his chances to make the opening-day roster.
“I just want to feel like I can play again and have fun and be around the guys and do whatever I can to help the team,” he said.
While Anderson wants to once again be a great reliever, he understands he cannot do so by chasing his past self.
“Every year, we get older, our bodies change,” he said. “Trying to not look back at how I used to be or how I used to feel or watching video or anything, and just feeling normal. Just going and playing catch and throwing the ball and getting the ball and feeling normal.”
Fun Sean Murphy moments during a drill
You can never gain too much insight from spring training workouts. The games are what really matter.
But the workouts can be fun to watch.
On Sunday, the Braves’ catchers did a drill in the main stadium in which they would catch a pitch and fire to third base, second base or first base. The drill provided a look at Sean Murphy’s talent.
He put his cannon on display, as well as his technique. He always made it look easy, cleanly catching the ball and shifting his body however he needed before firing a throw to the necessary base.
“Pretty elite right there,” Snitker said after watching it.
How the Braves will handle the WBC players
A few players are headed to the World Baseball Classic in March.
It appears Ronald Acuña (Team Venezuela) and Eddie Rosario (Team Puerto Rico) will leave for their countries’ camps March 6. Snitker said he believes Chadwick Tromp (the Netherlands) will leave March 1 because he has a long trip to Taiwan. (The other two are headed to Miami).
Snitker said the WBC guys will play in Grapefruit League games until they depart for the tournament.
“They’ll probably play maybe a little more than they normally would, just for the fact of what they’re getting ready to do,” he said. “But it’s good that we’ll have them under our care for three weeks before they go.”
