KISSIMMEE, FLA. — Fredi Gonzalez wasn’t a first-hand witness the first time Mike Foltynewicz pitched this spring.
But the word he got back from last week’s split-squad appearance against Washington was enthusiastic, if not exactly highly technical. “We got the reports back and it was like: ‘Holy Cow,’” the Braves manager said.
Tuesday, Foltynewicz’s return from last season’s serious blood clot issue and the rib removal surgery to relieve it demanded even more colorful phrasing. Only Gonzalez, who was on hand to see this performance, could not fully commit.
“He threw the…he threw it pretty good. We got the radio (microphone) here, I can’t say what I want to say,” Gonzalez said with a big smile.
“He really threw it good.”
Working efficiently, showing every bit of his former bullet train velocity and a solid command of his secondary stuff, Foltynewicz breezed in his second go-round Tuesday. Departing with two out in the fourth, after catching Carlos Gomez watching a sizzling strike three, Foltynewicz gave up just two singles while striking out five and walking one. He left with a 2-1 lead, but the Braves finished with an 8-7 loss.
Tuesday was another significant step in the 24-year-old’s recovery and in perhaps being able to re-join the Braves rotation as early as mid-April.
To think, it was just last mid-September when, as Foltynewicz described it Tuesday, “I’m laying on our (examination) table, and the doctor is telling me what I have, saying I might not be able to pitch again.
“Something like that happens and it goes through your head: That’s the only thing I know how to do is play baseball. I had tears in my eyes.”
Foltynewicz’s first season with the Braves, and his first ever as a starter, came to an end last Sept. 18 when his pitching arm ballooned and he was diagnosed with the potentially life-threatening clots. Three days later, surgeons removed a portion of his first rib to improve blood flow in his pitching shoulder.
He was soon relieved to hear that pitching would be an option again. But what followed was a couple months of relative inactivity while he was on blood-thinning medication, leaving him nearly 20 pounds lighter and feeling as if were starting over as a pitcher when the new year arrived.
He got one souvenir from the ordeal — his surgeon presented him with a half-dollar-sized piece of the rib, which he had framed as a reminder of his good fortune in dealing with the clots before they led to a more serious issue, such as a stroke.
The lost weight might actually turn out to be a bonus, as he said he feels actually stronger and more athletic at his current 209 pounds.
Foltynewicz also said he came back to baseball with an attitude rearranged by the discovery that possessing a 98 mph fastball is nothing to be taken for granted.
“After the doctor got done with me and said everything was going to be all right, that opened up my eyes tremendously,” Foltynewicz said. “I’ve got all confidence in the world and literally going out there and pitching like it’s your last goes to the heart with me. I’m excited about this year. I’m confident. I’m comfortable, but not too comfortable. It’s a 180-degree turn for me and I think this season is going to be a really fun one for me, really exciting.”
There were nothing but hopeful omens Tuesday, as he worked through a very thorny Astros lineup. Houston was the team that drafted him in 2010’s first round and the team that dealt him to Atlanta at the start of 2015 primarily to acquire catcher Evan Gattis.
The familiarity with Houston and the quality of its hitters only added to his excitement. “I’m glad I pitched the way I did (against the Astros), my confidence is that much higher,” he said.
As for his manager, “It was everything you wanted to see and more from his second outing of spring,” Gonzalez said.
Neither the pitcher nor Gonzalez were ready to commit to when or if Foltynewicz was bound for the Braves rotation. It was enough for one party to just enjoy how far he had come since September’s diagnosis. Patience apparently is another side-effect.
“I really can’t worry about that now,” Foltynewicz said, when asked about the likelihood of an early return. “I don’t want to try to take it into high gear just yet, take it 100 percent all the time, because I don’t want to have a setback. This is a pretty serious injury, and who knows what can happen with it? But everything feels good right now.
“I want to get to pitching rather than going out there throwing, and try to get to Atlanta as soon as I can.”
