It’s been nearly two full calendar years since Arodys Vizcaino took the mound in a big-league uniform. So, one can imagine he likely felt some butterflies when his name was called to pitch the sixth inning on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals in Port St. Lucie.
Once he got on the mound, though, it didn’t seem like the nerves got to him very much. It helps when you get a first-pitch out to start off the inning, as he induced a pop-up from Nolan Gorman before walking Evan Mendoza. Vizcaino followed that by striking out former Mets prospect, Ali Sanchez, before ending a rather clean inning by getting Harrison Bader to ground into a force out.
And just like that, the former Atlanta Braves reliever was back.
Although he allowed just one earned run and struck out six hitters in four innings to start the 2019 season, he landed on the Injured List with shoulder discomfort, and about a week or so later, he went under the knife for season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. The 2020 campaign came and went without him throwing a pitch in the big leagues, but then the Mets gave him an opportunity last November by signing the right-hander to a minor-league deal.
Prior to his Grapefruit League debut, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reported that Vizcaino’s fastball velocity was clocked as high at 96 mph, while manager Luis Rojas commented on his breaking pitches were looking great in bullpens. Once he entered the actual game on Sunday, there were two important things to watch for: what his fastball velocity settled in at and staying healthy upon his exit. The results were favorable for both:
Arodys Vizcaino throws a scoreless inning for the Mets, more importantly he was 96/97.
He was 97/98 when he had a 2.77 ERA over five seasons for the Braves
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 14, 2021
How he progresses through the remainder of camp will surely be something to follow in the coming weeks leading up to Opening Day. The Mets already have a number of hurlers vying for a very limited number of open bullpen spots on the big-league roster. Vizcaino only adds to the intrigue now that the strength and velocity he was showing in bullpens and “B” games translated to a Grapefruit League game.
Obviously, his health will be of the utmost importance since he essentially hasn’t pitched a normal relief pitcher workload in the major leagues since 2018. If he continues on this current route, though, he’ll make some decisions very difficult for the coaching staff moving forward, which is a good problem for New York to have.
