Shane Baz Excited To Take The Mound Again For Tampa Bay Rays

Shane Baz gives much credit to his parents for the encouragement and support they provided as the pitcher was going through the rehab process following arthroscopic elbow surgery in March.

As Baz was getting closer to returning to the Rays, it was his mother who sent him a Spotify link to Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle Again.”

“I like Aerosmith and I was definitely pumping that song a little bit my first couple of (rehab) games,” said the righthander, who made four starts at Triple-A Durham before being rejoining the Rays.

Baz, who spoke to the media before Wednesday’s game against visiting St. Louis, will be back on the mound again for the Rays. He is scheduled to start Saturday at Minnesota.

Baz, who turns 23 on June 17, underwent his procedure March 21 to remove loose bodies in his pitching elbow. Nearly four months later, he is glad to be back in the clubhouse with some familiar faces.

“I think excitement is a better word,” he said, when asked if he felt more excited or anxious heading into his first appearance with the Rays since last year’s ALDS. “Just getting to join such a good team and a great group of teammates. Being around them a lot almost makes you a better player. So, I am definitely very excited and honored that they want me to come help them.”

Baz certainly helped the team after being summoned from Durham last September 20. That night at Tropicana Field, he yielded only a pair of solo homers in five innings to pick up the win in his MLB debut. In three starts, he went 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA and struck out 18 batters in 13 innings.

The 6-foot-3 Houston native, who was acquired from Pittsburgh along with Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow in the 2018 trade deadline deal that sent Chris Archer to the Pirates, did not appear during the delayed Grapefruit League season before he was injured. So, Saturday will mark Baz’s first appearance in a Rays uniform in 2022.

“It has been somewhat of a long time coming,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “The injury was unfortunate in the spring. He has done everything in his power to get back in a timely fashion. We feel good with where he is at.”

So does Baz. In his final rehab start, last Sunday against visiting Nashville, he went 4 1/3 innings and fanned 10. He threw 79 pitches, or three less than he did against the Marlins during last season’s cameo. The 82 pitches in that outing were the most he threw in his trio of starts.

“I felt like I was back in the groove a little bit, kind of got my feet under me,” he said. “Just having the pace of the game back, like I was totally back and kind of like a normal start.”

The taste of the majors Baz experienced at the end of last season, which included a start in Game 2 of the ALDS against Boston, is something that should prove helpful as he takes the mound in a big-league game for the first time in eight months.

“That was like getting my feet wet, getting thrown into the fire a little bit and getting to pitch against some of the best teams in the league,” he said. “That gave me good confidence and good trust in everything we are doing here.”

Baz, who is Tampa Bay’s No. 1 prospect and No. 12 overall according to MLB Pipeline, said that not being able to take the mound and be with his teammates gave him a stronger appreciation for when he is healthy and things are going well.

“You almost get a new perspective on how lucky we really are to be here,” he said. “Just being grateful and try to take advantage of whatever opportunities I get.”

Another opportunity comes his way Saturday.