What Jason Grilli always wanted in baseball was to have a role of major significance for his team, and with the Braves he got that chance for the second time in his career, and was making the most of it.
That ended abruptly Saturday when the 38-year-old closer sustained a season-ending ruptured left Achilles tendon while running to cover first base on a ninth-inning ground ball. He faces surgery and extensive rehab, but Grilli vowed Sunday not only to come back from the injury, but be ready for spring training with the Braves.
“Absolutely,” he said, standing with crutches in the visiting clubhouse at Coors Field. “Mark my words. Write it down in ink, That will be happening. I’ll be on Field 5 (at spring training) yelling, covering first base a million times.”
Recovery from Achilles tendon surgery typically requires 8-9 months before a return to sports activities, and professional athletes – most of them basketball players – who’ve suffered the injury often require 9-10 months. Most were at least a few years younger than Grilli.
A pitcher coming back from Achilles surgery on his non push-off leg might be able to return quicker than a baseball position player who’s required to do a great deal more running, but the age factor is no small matter. Still, Grilli, who is in the first season of a two-year, $8 million contract, has not been dissuaded so far from setting a spring-training return as a firm goal.
He’ll meet with a specialist Monday in Atlanta to set a date for surgery likely later in the week.
Before the injury, Grilli was the Braves’ best trade chip as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approached, and there was at least a pretty good chance they would deal him and get a solid return in the form of young talent. That won’t happen now, and veteran Jim Johnson becomes even more valuable as a trade target for other contending teams looking for a setup man or closer.
Johnson will take over the primary closer duties, at least as long as he’s with the Braves.
“Look, I think you’ve seen that we are at least open to trade talks on players,” Braves assistant general manager John Coppolella said. “Obviously (Grilli) had a great year, that’s why there were teams that had interest in him. But there wasn’t anything real close on the trade front with him anyway. And I think that he brings a lot on the field as well as off the field to our team.”
The free-agent contract he signed in December includes a third-year option. Grill is making $4.25 million this season and is owed $3.5 million in 2016, with a $3 million option for 2017 that has a $250,000 buyout. Johnson is on a one-year contract and will be a free agent after the season.
Grilli’s confidence in a full recovery is buoyed by the fact that he’s overcome a variety of serious injuries throughout his career, including Tommy John elbow surgery as a rookie in 2002 and a knee injury in 2010 that was so devastating, many believed it would end his career.
“Yeah, I think unfortunately, or fortunately, I’ve been through it before,” he said. “I just can’t wait to get through the surgery so I can do my part. That’s the part I can control. Like you said, I’ve got a good supporting cast with my personal trainer and my family, especially. We’ll get through it….
“I’ll be out there next year. Mark my words. This one will be easier than my last one. I push myself, you lay yourself on the line every day. That’s the only way I know how to do it. It’s the way TO do it.”
Johnson said if anyone could make a full recovery from the injury at 38, it might be Grilli.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Johnson said. “It’s not his arm, so that’s kind of the one saving grace in all this. I don’t know much about it, I’m not a medical professional. It’s all in how he responds, and I think, knowing him, he doesn’t want to end like that. So I think he’s going to put everything he has into it to try and come back.
“You never know how many bullets you’ve got left. I mean, he might be pitching until he’s 46. You never know. But realistically…. Obviously seeing what he puts into it, and what he’s gone through in his career, he’s had a lot of adversity, this is just another spot. It’s tough. This game’s a grind. When you watch a teammate go down, it’s a helpless feeling.”
About the Author
