Washington Nationals news & notes: The Tanner Rainey Project

Davey Martinez talked early in Spring Coaching 2024 about reliever Tanner Rainey getting back from Tommy John surgical procedure to take hopefully tackle a task within the again finish of the Nationals’ bullpen, although he did acknowledge fairly shortly, as soon as issues began, Rainey’s stuff was not fairly the place they’d hoped.

“His velo remains to be not the place we expect it must be,” Martinez stated in late March, “… so we’ll see how that transpires. It’s solely day one. We’ll see how he does. I’m glad he’s again, I’m glad he’s pitching. We’re going to get him on the market, but it surely’s most likely going to be extra of a low-leverage scenario till he builds himself up.”

If Rainey may get from the decrease to at the very least the mid-90s together with his velocity that may assist, the skipper stated, but it surely was not there early.

By the top of April, Rainey had a 9.82 ERA, an 8.26, and a .404/.508/.692 line in opposition to in his first 11 video games and 11 innings pitched.

His fastball nonetheless wasn’t there, velocity-wise, and, Martinez added, “He’s lacking location. A variety of these balls he threw have been virtually proper down the center.

“Whenever you’re not throwing as arduous as you used to throw, you’ve received to start out finding your pitches. And he didn’t use his slider as a lot as I assumed he would. He was throwing much more fastballs.

“[Pitching Coach Jim] Hickey goes to speak to him. I do know [Pitching Strategist Sean Doolittle] goes to attempt to sit down with him somewhat bit and determine some issues out.”

“We’re going to maintain working with him,” the supervisor stated every week later.

“We’re tinkering round with somewhat little bit of his mechanics, attempting to get him to remain in his legs somewhat bit extra, the factor is with the ability to throw strikes constantly. When he’s across the strike zone he does pretty properly. When his slider is within the zone, it’s a great pitch for him, so we received to get him forward, we received to get him to know that strike one remains to be his finest pitch, you already know, and he’s received to assault the strike zone. We’re going to maintain working with him and see the place we’re at. I’m not going to surrender on him.

“We’re attempting to ease his manner in, attempt to put him in conditions the place hopefully he can begin feeling somewhat higher. However he’s an enormous a part of that bullpen, and we’re going to want him.”

Whereas the rate was beginning to tick up at occasions, Martinez added, it was nonetheless very a lot a piece in progress at that time.

“At occasions we’ll see that 94-95, however we’ve received to get him to know that, ‘Hey, proper now it’s not there,’” he stated.

“‘It’s extra about your pitch choice. It’s extra about location. Throwing fastballs proper down the center will not be going to work, particularly to good hitters.’”

All through the method, Martinez stated, he had realized quite a bit about Rainey as an individual.

“He’s a bulldog. He actually is. He bounces again, he will get able to go, he’s again on the mound, he desires the baseball, and I like that about him.”

Though he nonetheless was not the place they needed him to be, they have been arduous at work looking for a repair.

“It might be mechanical, it might be a number of various things, so we received to give attention to getting his decrease half engaged together with his higher half,” Martinez stated.

“He’s preventing to meet up with his arm proper now. Typically it’s good, and typically it’s not good, so now we simply want consistency.”

Rainey pitched simply thrice in Could, as they tried to get him again on observe. When he did pitch, there have been sings of progress.

“His velo was up once more,” Martinez stated after a Could nineteenth outing. “I assumed he threw the ball properly, however whenever you get behind to a few of these good hitters, and you allow a fastball in the midst of the plate, issues occur. However general I assumed he was quite a bit higher. The velo was there, now it’s about throwing strikes, constant strikes, you already know.”

“Now he’s simply received to know that, hey, he’s received to throw the ball within the strike zone.”

Martinez defined in early June why he was nonetheless at that time utilizing Rainey sparingly and looking for the best spots to get him out on the mound in aggressive motion.

“We all know his struggles. He’s working,” Martinez stated. “He’s throwing bullpens and attempting to get higher. I’ll discover some spots to place him in, however our video games for probably the most half have been fairly shut, and we’re right here to attempt to win as many ballgames as potential, however I do know [Bullpen Coach] Ricky [Bones] is working with him, Hickey has talked to him about some mechanical stuff. He’s getting higher, he actually is. His velo was somewhat bit up, after which it fluctuates, after which it goes again down, so we’re attempting to get him constant, that’s the most important factor, so we’re going to proceed to work with him, that’s all we are able to do.”

In seven appearances between Could twenty first and June twenty fifth, Rainey tossed scoreless outings, prompting his supervisor to reward the work the reliever was placing in.

“We’ll proceed to make use of him the best way we’re. He may need to pitch somewhat bit extra, however I like the best way he’s throwing the ball. The largest factor proper now’s he’s repeating his supply, which is sweet, so we’ve received to maintain him proper there, however he may get in some video games right here … simply to get him on the market somewhat bit extra, however he’s throwing the ball properly proper now.”

“He’s staying engaged on the rubber, he’s utilizing his legs somewhat bit extra,” Martinez stated every week later.

“That makes his arm catch up. Now he’s in a position to get the ball extra within the strike zone, repeat his supply each pitch. Yesterday was very clear, it was actually good.”

Martinez slowly labored Rainey again into the combination, with blended outcomes.

By August, nevertheless, after some trades on the deadline, he began placing Rainey in additional high-leverage conditions.

“He’s performed it earlier than,” Martinez stated.

“He’s performed a manner higher job. He doesn’t have the velo he fairly had, however he’s understanding the way to pitch. He’s finding his fastball higher, which is nice.”

“He’s been quite a bit higher, he actually has,” the supervisor stated in mid-September. “You’re beginning to see the velo tick up somewhat bit. Slider has been somewhat bit higher, but it surely took him a while to really feel that manner, but it surely’s a part of the method with Tommy John, it takes you somewhat bit to get going whether or not it’s mechanically, whether or not it’s bodily, however he discovered somewhat little bit of his rhythm and he’s pitching quite a bit higher.”

“I believe he’s beginning to acquire that confidence once more,” Martinez stated just a few days later.

“There is perhaps an opportunity that we use him in somewhat bit extra high-leverage conditions, however I need him to get by way of the yr feeling good about himself.

“Getting back from Tommy John, pitching out of the bullpen, I’ve been attempting to guard him somewhat bit, and he’s performed properly. So we’ll see how these subsequent weeks go.”

“I form of wish to preserve him build up and proceed to do what he’s doing.”

Requested if he thought Rainey would get to the high-90s velo he had pre-TJS, Martinez stated it was at the very least trending that manner all season.

“Solely time will inform, actually. When he first began the season he was 91-92, touching 93, now he’s 93-94, touching 95-96. It has bumped up, so we’ll see the place he’s at by the top of the yr and the way he comes again to Spring Coaching.”

In the long run, he stated, the membership’s affected person method paid advantages for Rainey.

“For us we form of took what we noticed in him earlier to the harm, and knew that typically these Tommy Johns — they are saying in a yr and a half or 17 months you’re full restoration. It takes somewhat bit longer than that. With Rainey, due to the best way his mechanics have been, we needed to make it possible for we gave sufficient alternatives to go on the market and attempt to work himself again and I’m glad we did.

“He’s throwing the ball higher, he bumped up a tick, his slider, the form has been quite a bit higher, so he’s performed properly.”

In the long run, Rainey completed the yr with the second-most appearances in his profession (50), and because the membership famous of their Season in Evaluate, he, “pitched to a 2.84 ERA (12 ER/38.0 IP) with 35 strikeouts and a .182 [opponents’ batting average] in 37 video games from Could 21 by way of the top of the season.”