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Zach Brzykcy had other plans. The right-hander fully intended to be part of the Nationals’ Opening Day bullpen and stick around as a full-time big leaguer. And then a right quadriceps injury suffered during spring training threw a wrench into those well-intentioned plans.
“It was tough. I had goals for the year, and they kind of changed when I had to shut down,” he said. “It wasn’t fun at the time, but it was mandatory for getting back to where I was. It was tough. I wanted to have a good year and not start off where I did. But we’re here now, and now we go.”
Brzykcy is finally here, healthy and promoted from Triple-A Rochester to serve as the Nats’ 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Guardians. Chances are, he’ll be sent back down at the end of the night, but he hopes to become part of the longer-term plan before too long.
A hidden gem of the Nationals’ farm system who rose through the ranks despite going undrafted out of Virginia Tech, Brzykcy (pronounced BRICK-see) made his major league debut last September and endured through a nightmare of a first outing. He was tagged for five runs by the Cubs without completing one inning of work. But he bounced back from that and delivered three straight scoreless appearances before struggling again in the season’s final week.
Brzykcy came to spring training ready to compete for a big league job, and he might well have won one if not for the leg injury he sustained early in camp. It affected his ability to push off the mound, and once it became clear it was also impacting his throwing mechanics, he knew he needed to take time to let it heal.
“No one wants to start off the year hurt,” he said. “It was definitely frustrating. But I just couldn’t pitch with where I was at. I rehabbed it for about a month and a half. It feels a lot better now from where we started. It’s night and day.”
Brzykcy made three scoreless rehab appearances for Single-A Fredericksburg and Wilmington, then was moved up to Rochester and activated off the 15-day IL. In five appearances with the Red Wings, he allowed two runs, striking out nine.
Brzykcy admits he’s a lot less nervous this time in D.C. than he was in September, when everything was new. The biggest thing he learned from that rough debut?
“It’s not easy, but looking back, just be confident,” he said. “Throw stuff with confidence and know that how you got here is what got you here. Don’t stray away from that, and just be confident that your stuff is good enough to play here.”
* Josh Bell remains out of the Nationals’ lineup for the fourth straight day since tweaking his groin muscle running out a ground ball Friday night in Cincinnati, and it does not appear he’ll be ready to start by day’s end.
Manager Davey Martinez said Bell has been taking some swings and is showing improvement, but it’s probably pushing it to try to get him back in the lineup for the doubleheader nightcap. With the Nats off again Thursday, they might continue to be careful and sit him again for Wednesday afternoon’s series finale.
* Cade Cavalli has thrown one of two planned bullpen sessions since coming out of his last rehab start (April 29 for Rochester) with fatigue. Martinez said the second session is expected within the next few days, and if all goes well, the right-hander will be able to resume his rehab stint after that.
“I would really love for him to get back on that mound again as soon as possible,” Martinez said. “If we take too much time off, then we’re back to square one.”
