Mariners reliever Matt Brash reaches major benchmark in return from elbow surgery

PEORIA, Ariz. – This time, Matt Brash walked off the mound with a smile on his face and the belief that better days are soon ahead.

With manager Dan Wilson and most of the Mariners front office, including president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander watching intently, Brash threw his first full bullpen session since undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

“That was a little more high intensity than I had been doing,” he said. “I did a ‘touch and feel’ (off the mound) where I got to flip a couple fastballs. But I got to spin some pitches and it feels good. It was cool to have everybody there and see the support from some of the guys. It’s fun to be back with everybody.”

Just under a year ago, Feb. 20, 2024, to be exact, Brash’s first bullpen of the spring was cut short due to tightness in his elbow that had graduated to outright discomfort. It’s the sort of feeling that leaves a pitcher scared and uncertain.

“It was just something new that I hadn’t felt before,” Brash said at the time.

After undergoing an MRI and flying to Texas to have Dr. Keith Meister go over the results and examine his elbow, Brash was diagnosed with medial elbow inflammation. It was a positive diagnosis that didn’t include surgery.

What followed was a start-and-stop process of rest and recovery, then rehab throwing and a return of the elbow pain.

After working his way back to being scheduled to throw a rehab outing for Triple-A Tacoma on April 27, Brash was instead shut down when the elbow discomfort returned after a bullpen session.

On May 10, he underwent surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.

But unlike the traditional Tommy John surgery where the UCL is replaced, usually with tendon graft from another part of the body, Brash had a new procedure where the damaged ligament is repaired with an internal brace and then wrapped in collagen tape to reinforce it. It’s a less invasive surgery that leads to a faster recovery, which is why Brash was able to throw off the mound 10 months after his procedure.

“Last year was definitely tricky, just figuring out everything with my elbow and all that,” Brash said. “But I feel great right now and had a great rehab process. I’m just excited to get back going.”

While his surgery afforded him a quicker return to begin physical therapy and throwing, it was still an unenjoyable process over eight months, including a summer spent in the Arizona heat.

“The beginning is the worst part when you’re stuck in the brace and kind of just come in and do a couple exercises and leave,” he said. “You can’t work out or throw and, yeah, it’s summer in Arizona.”

Brash tried to keep himself distracted from the long recovery. He talked with friends, explored Arizona when possible, played video games and watched plenty of movies.

“You are so used to training and throwing every day, when it gets taken away, it’s hard,” he said. “Once I got to start throwing again, it was OK. It was just a slow, slow process.”

But the time away from the team and the solitude of the process allowed for reflection.

“The biggest part is just appreciating it a little more,” he said. “Obviously, I appreciate being in the big leagues and pitching for the Mariners and all that, but when it gets taken away for a year and you have to watch the games on TV, it puts it all into perspective. I love doing this, and I missed it so much. When I get back on the mound at T-Mobile, I’m gonna appreciate those moments a little more.”

He missed the rush of competing and the camaraderie of being with teammates while doing it.

“You don’t get that anywhere else, that rush of being on the mound,” he said.

But Brash made sure any surge of adrenaline didn’t overtake him in that first bullpen. He knows that pushing too hard will only delay his return.

Pitching to young catching prospect Harry Ford, Brash didn’t pitch anywhere near maximum effort. He wanted to make sure his delivery and arm action were smooth and easy and see where the velocity sat with his fastball.

“I was mid- to upper 80s there,” he said. “And with my off-speed I just wanted to get the feel. But it was making sure I hit the velocity ranges they wanted me to hit.”

The timeline to his return to the Mariners bullpen initially started with mid-May. Recently, Dipoto thought Brash might be back by late April.

“We’ve gone through my timeline and my checkpoints,” he said. “But right now, especially now when I’m getting off the mound like three times a week, it’s going quick. I just come in and either I play catch and work out, or I get off the mound. My days are filled and I’m just taking it day by day.”

Brash’s return will be welcomed. His absence was noticeable in late leverage innings in 2024.

His ability to generate swings and misses or extremely weak contact was missing in the seventh and eighth innings when opponents had runners on base and tough hitters at the plate.

Brash would watch Mariners games while he was recovering and rehabbing from his surgery.

“You definitely see your spot come up a lot,” he said. “I think it’s the hardest part is just outings that you know you would be in there and doing your thing. It’s tough to see someone else go in there. I watched a lot of the games, but it was hard watching at times.”

In 2023, Brash established himself as a dominant late-inning reliever. He led the Mariners with 78 relief appearances, posting a 9-4 record with four saves and a 3.06 ERA. In 70⅔ innings pitched, he struck out 107 batters with 29 walks.

With right-hander Gregory Santos also missing most of last season due to various injuries, the Mariners were scrambling to find leverage relievers to get to closer Andrés Muñoz.

There is a chance that Seattle could have the much-anticipated trio of Brash, Santos and Muñoz to close out the quality starts provided by the rotation by May.

“Oh man, the talent we have on this pitching staff,” Brash said. “It’s special.”