TAMPA — Considering it was only seven-plus months ago that Michael King broke a bone in his right elbow, the Yankees reliever appears to be in a great spot midway through spring training.
“ ‘Only’ is a tough word, because it felt like forever,” King said Tuesday, after throwing two innings of live batting practice at the club’s player development complex on an off day for most of the team.
While King was crushed to miss the stretch run last season as he began a grueling rehab process, he realizes he was fortunate to only miss two-plus months of games instead of potentially much more had he needed Tommy John surgery on top of the operation that repaired his fractured elbow.
“So it feels quick when I look at it from that perspective,” King said, “but for the most part, I’m so itching to get back out there in a game because it sucks having to watch my team play when I’m just sitting there broken.”
The Yankees are just as eager to get him back.
King remains on track to break camp with the team and provide the weapon it was sorely missing out of its bullpen for the final two months of the regular season and into the playoffs last year.
Before King got hurt, it was hard to find a more dominant or valuable reliever in the game.
The right-hander had posted a 2.29 ERA with 66 strikeouts across 51 innings and 34 games.
He emerged as a multi-inning threat who could mow down a lineup and bridge the gap from starter to closer, often giving other high-leverage relievers important days off in the process.
Through the day of his final appearance, July 22, King’s 1.7 fWAR was tied for the second-highest mark of all relievers.
And in case his value to the Yankees wasn’t obvious enough, it only became more clear when they struggled to make up for his absence, especially in the postseason.
Now, King is building up his workload in camp to give the Yankees options in how to utilize him — the plan is for him to get up to three innings at some point this spring — though manager Aaron Boone said recently they will “probably” use him as “that multi-inning weapon.”
Last season, 16 of King’s 34 appearances lasted longer than one inning.
He pitched on back-to-back days five times, but only when both ends of it lasted an inning or less.
For the former starter, it was a learning experience with regards to how many days off he would need after a multi-inning outing.
“It got to the point where it didn’t really feel good at any day, but I would not tell trainers that and this is what happens,” King said with a grin, pointing to his elbow. “But usually I’d say … I could throw a 40-pitch inning and actually feel good in a day or so, whereas if I spread out those 40 pitches over three ups [innings], the ups kind of get your heart rate down, back up, down, back up. And that, I think, takes a little bit more time.
“So if I go those three innings, usually I’d say I need two days. But then if they need me for a really short outing, I can do that quicker than if they only need me for three.”
It would not be surprising if the Yankees treat King with extra caution, though, especially early on to make sure he stays healthy.
In the meantime, King is feeling closer to being ready for the season.
It took him some time to get comfortable in his mechanics after the long injury layoff, but the more he gets off the mound — including two scoreless innings with four strikeouts Friday in his Grapefruit League debut — the more he feels like himself.
“I’ve been feeling like myself, I’d say for the last three outings,” he said. “If you asked me that question two weeks ago, I would have said [I felt] nowhere close to regular-season ready.
“But my last three, I think I’ve developed a little bit more confidence just based on results [and] also just the comfort of my mechanics.”