GLENDALE, Ariz. — Perhaps the most important question for new White Sox right-hander Kelvin Herrera is, ‘How do you feel?’
Signed to a two-year contract as a free agent over the offseason that will net him $8.5 million in both 2019 and 2020 (with the Sox holding a $10 million option for 2021), Herrera is pitching in spring training for the first time since August, when a fracture in his left foot which required surgery ended his season. As injuries go, this is a painful one, and the foot is the one Herrera lands on in his delivery.
“I feel like I’m in a good place right now,” said Herrera, the third-highest paid player on the Sox payroll in 2019 behind Jose Abreu ($16 million) and Ivan Nova ($9.1 million). “I’ve been working hard here to get my body in the right shape, and my body is responding well. I feel pretty good. My foot is letting me work.
Herrera, 29, whose 2.82 career ERA covering seven seasons ranks in the top 10 of active relievers with 400 or more innings, hasn’t cranked his velocity up to mid-season norms just yet, but he’s throwing strikes with low ’90s velocity and getting outs this spring. In six relief appearances covering 5 2/3 innings, his ledger shows five strikeouts, one walk and two hits allowed (one a home run). A two-time All-Star, Herrera was signed to give manager Rick Renteria’s bullpen needed, proven punch.
Herrera most famously was the last survivor of that vaunted 2015 Royals World Series champion bullpen led by the three-headed monster with Greg Holland and Wade Davis. When traded to the Nationals last June, Royals manager Ned Yost got teary-eyed disclosing the deal to his team.
That’s how much Herrera was liked in the clubhouse.
“That should explain how much he meant to us,” Royals outfielder Alex Gordon told MLB.com at the time. “Ned told us the news, and we rushed in here as soon as we could, and said our good-byes. Luckily got to tell him how much he meant to all of us, and just what a great teammate he was, and player and person for this city.”
Herrera said he is already “fitting in well” in the Sox clubhouse, where he is a welcome addition. Paired with Alex Colome, he gives Renteria a reliable late-inning tandem.
Colome, 30, pitched to a combined 3.04 ERA with 12 saves, 30 holds and 72 strikeouts over 68 innings between the Mariners and Rays last season. With 47 saves for the Rays in 2017, he became the first pitcher in franchise history to lead the majors, that coming after converting 37 of 40 save opportunities. He made his first All-Star team in his first full season in the majors.
Herrera posted a 2.44 ERA with 17 saves in 19 chances for the Nationals and Royals last season but was limited to 10 games after the All-Star break because of a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot.
The injury required surgery, and there was doubt whether Herrera would be ready to roll by Opening Day in Kansas City. But he appears to be on track to break camp with the team.
“I feel pretty normal for this time of the year,” Herrera said.
Per Brooks Baseball, Herrera’s four-seam fastball averaged 97 mph last season. He calls his heater his best pitch but plenty of breaking stuff is coming out of his hand this spring.
“My fastball is my best pitch — yessir,” Herrera said. “But in order for my fastball to be effective I have to show offspeed stuff.”
The high end velocity will be there eventually, he said.
“I will probably be in full shape by April something, or May,” Herrera said. “Obviously here in spring training, you are coming off the offseason so you aren’t that loose yet. I’m climbing — that is the right word.”
