Royals’ Kyle Zimmer on return: It feels like forever and yesterday at the same time
Kyle Zimmer waited just shy of a year to shake the memory of his lone spring training appearance for the Royals in 2018. The way his shoulder felt throwing that day — March 9 against the Los Angeles Dodgers — eventually forced him to use the entire season to rehab, his career in doubt before he’d ever thrown a pitch in the majors.
With Zimmer scheduled to pitch on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics, it was hard not to think about how far he’d come. The ailing shoulder was the latest in a litany of injuries that stunted his progress since being selected in the first round of the 2012 draft.
Zimmer spent roughly six months of the past year with Driveline Baseball analyzing, training and rebuilding himself in hopes of pitching at Kauffman Stadium one day. Pitching in Sunday’s spring training game, while a small step in the grand scheme, certainly served as a benchmark.
“It’s crazy because it seems like forever, but it also seems like yesterday I was at Glendale throwing 82 (mph) with my shoulder going to the plate with the ball,” Zimmer said. “I was throwing to live hitters up at Driveline in the fall, and I came down to Arizona. I was throwing some (simulated) games to some of the guys who were here in instructs in the end of October. But for a real game, yeah, a full year was probably the longest it’s been.”
Zimmer lasted just two-thirds of an inning against the Dodgers in his only spring outing last year. Sunday against Oakland, Zimmer tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and he allowed one hit and didn’t record a strikeout or a walk.
He entered the game with the bases loaded and one out when Sam McWilliams lost command in the second inning and ran up his pitch count.
Zimmer got out of that inning with an inning-ending double play when a line drive was snared by shortstop Nicky Lopez, who stepped on the bag to double up a runner off second base. Zimmer also got the first out of the next inning on a line drive hit right at an infielder. He got a fly out and a soft grounder to finish off his outing.
“I think some of it is also going to be, coming out of the bullpen now, finding a new routine getting loose out there,” Zimmer said. “I do my weighted ball stuff, so I’m trying to figure out how to efficiently go about that and trying to get loose and hot quickly but also making sure that you’re ready to go.”
Zimmer said he was expecting to start the third inning with a clean slate, but he got pressed into action with McWilliams’ early exit. Zimmer said he’s become much more routine-oriented since he went to train at Driveline.
Getting comfortable with his timing out of the bullpen will be a work in progress.
“When the phone rings, you’ve got to get ready as quick as possible,” Zimmer said. “I was just talking to (bullpen coach) Vance (Wilson) about that, finding (a routine). It’ll happen quickly, but it’s just going to take reps to figure out what works and get used to it.”
Zimmer will compete for a spot in a bullpen that has added multiple options since the end of last season. McWilliams and his fellow Rule 5 pick Scott Ellis will be considered as bullpen options as will free-agent additions Brad Boxberger, Jake Diekman and Drew Storen.
The Royals also have Wily Peralta, who finished last season having converted 14 of 14 save chances, while Kevin McCarthy and Brian Flynn were also regulars out of the bullpen last season.
Asked earlier prior to Sunday’s game whether the history of health issues linger whenever Zimmer takes the mound, Royals manager Ned Yost replied, “Not really. I know he’s in great shape. I look at the reports every day. He hasn’t complained about anything health-wise. He’s done fine.
“Again, I just try to keep an open mind. You don’t want that in the back of your mind for him right now. He’s worked hard. I’ve got an open mind and just let him go out and compete.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2019 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Royals’ Kyle Zimmer on return: It feels like forever and yesterday at the same time."
