Woo continues to progress, albeit without a clear timetable for his return
Mariners fans eager to know exactly when team ace Bryan Woo will return to the mound are going to have to be a little more patient.
But they’re not alone in that; Woo himself is having to practice patience as he works back from the pec injury that sidelined him in Houston two weeks ago. Still, he spoke optimistically—if measuredly—after throwing to live hitters on Thursday at T-Mobile Park.
“Positive day. Still not where I want to be in terms of game speed,” said Woo post-throw. “But in terms of how everything’s progressed, happy with it. Considering a week ago I wasn’t even throwing yet, and then a week from now, I’ll hopefully be in a better spot. So still just taking it day by day, but in terms of looking at it that way, it’s a lot of positives.”
“I thought he looked great,” said Mariners bullpen catcher Justin Novak, who caught Woo’s session while Leo Rivas and Harry Ford stood in the box against him. “Especially considering where he was.”
Woo said he’s been on a mound several times since the injury, and he’s been throwing his off-speed and working on building back his velocity; today he was working on continuing to add velocity and building his pitch count. Less than managing pain in his pec, he’s more focused on ramping back up correctly.
“You don’t want to take huge jumps. You’ve got to be smart with it…it doesn’t do any good to just recklessly come out and throw as hard as I can just to do it, just to see a number. It’s got to be done the right way, so I’m putting my trust in the coaching staff, training staff, and listening to what they say. They were happy with today, so I’m happy with today.”
One thing Woo did ramp up considerably today was the mental side of the game, saying this was the most intent he’s thrown with so far. Upon arriving at the park, he went through his start day routine. On the mound, he went through the rituals he does pre-first pitch, and multiples times could be seen centering his breath and setting his shoulders as he does when throwing in games, trying to create as close to game-like conditions for himself as possible considering his physical limitations.
“I’m trying to take everything that I can control, everything I can do, to 100%…that’s all you can do. I can only control so much in this situation right now, and I owe it to everybody just to give everything that I have to what I can control.”
It was a measured response from Woo, who wouldn’t project forward to whether he felt he’d be on the ALDS roster or not, emphasizing that he is only focused on taking things day by day. Still, he called today a “big step,” while remaining realistic about the challenges he’s facing.
“Definitely cleared some hurdles. With an injury like that, it doesn’t just disappear. You’re still managing, still doing treatment every day to flush that stuff out and then still working on building the workload.”
“There’s a bunch of different fronts to it, but I’d say everything’s been progressing, and that’s all I can really ask.”
Category: General Sports
