PEORIA, Ariz. — For basically two weeks George Kirby wasn’t allowed to throw a baseball. He could hold one in his hand, play with the grips of his pitches, but under no circumstances was he allowed to throw it.
That changed Friday when he was cleared to resume throwing after shoulder inflammation/fatigue sidelined him after his first Cactus League start on March 7.
“I was excited for today,” Kirby said. “We kind of planned it out for two weeks now that I was going to throw today, just kind of based on how I felt.”
It wasn’t an exhaustive session. He made 20 throws from 60 feet. And his shoulder wasn’t even a concern.
“Just trying kind of get used to my new cleats. I went down a size with some insoles, and then just working in my new glove,” he said. “I wasn’t even thinking about my arm. Just kind of get out there, just get loose for 20 throws.”
There will come a time when he worries about throwing and the results.
“I’m sure I will be once I start getting off the mound,” he said. “If I spike a curveball or something, and I’ll start thinking about it. But right now, I’m just focused on how I’m feeling, and just day to day, just getting better.”
He will play catch again on Saturday.
“Yep, out to 75 feet tomorrow,” he said.
While Kirby didn’t want to get shut down from throwing, he understood the Mariners reasoning.
“I never like to take time off,” he said. “I want to stay on the mound as much as I can. It never feels good hearing that you’ve got to sit out and take some time off, but the more you kind of understand that it’s for better for the long term and all that, which I know, it’s just frustrating. But I want to be healthy all year. I want to be healthy toward the end of the year. I want to be pitching the playoffs. So it’s important that we did what we did.”
Missing the first month of the season could allow him to feel a little stronger at the end of the season.
“It might be a situation where all the guys got five or six more starts than I do and I might be feeling a little better in October or whatever,” he said. “I’m just excited for when that happens.”
The Mariners planned a throwing program for him that could get him back in a month.
“There will be some off days mixed in,” he said. “I could see that by the end of April I’m at that 80-pitch point.”
Also
Manager Dan Wilson confirmed the slotting of the starting rotation to open the season.
March 27 vs. A’s: Logan Gilbert
March 28 vs. A’s: Luis Castillo
March 29 vs. A’s: Bryce Miller
March 30 vs. A’s: Bryan Woo
April 1 vs. Tigers: Emerson Hancock
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