Perrotto: This Season’s Finish Total Opposite of 2024 for Tim Mayza
It has been a long and frustrating season for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It hasn’t been any better for Tim Mayza.
Despite edging the Cubs 3-2 on Friday in Chicago, the Pirates are 52-71 and in last place in the National League Central. Just three MLB teams have a worse record than the Pirates.
All Mayza has been able to do for most of the season is sit and watch while trying to lend moral support to his teammates. The veteran left-handed reliever hasn’t pitched since April 18 because of a strained lat muscle in his left shoulder.
That wasn’t what he or the Pirates envisioned when Mayza signed a one-year, $1.15-million contract as a free agent on February 3. The Pirates planned on the 33-year-old adding stability to the bullpen.
Instead, the injury has sidelined Mayza for almost four months. He is working out at the Pirates’ spring training facility in Bradenton, Fla., with the hope of returning to the major leagues in September and salvaging something from a lost season.
“It’s tough sitting and knowing that you can’t do anything to help outside of doing the best you can to get back as quickly as possible in order to help out and be here as part of the team with guys and go through the grind of the season with them,” Mayza said.
Though it seems like Eons ago, Mayza got off to a good start this season. He had a 2.89 ERA in seven relief appearances and recorded at least five outs in four games.
Mayza felt he was on his way to having a good season. He also felt like he was fitting in well with his new team after pitching in last year’s World Series for the New York Yankees.
“Probably the toughest part is in spring (training), you develop some relationships with the guys and you come together as a unit, as a team,” Mayza said. “Then to be injured early and be out this long. You’re trying to make an impression on guys and be someone that can be counted on and relied on as part of this team to help them have some success.
“It’s been tough. It’s definitely been tough. But the only thing I can control daily is what I can do to get better and to get closer to returning.”
If Mayza returns, he will be coming back to a lost cause. The Pirates are 26 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and 12 games out of the final wild card spot.
Things were much different for Mayza at this time last year as he was settling in with the Yankees. On July 5, Mayza was released after spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Blue Jays. The Yankees signed him a week later.
Mayza pitched 2.2 scoreless innings over three innings in the postseason, including making his first World Series appearance. The Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the Fall Classic.
“Everybody dreams of the moment,” Mayza said. “I don’t think I would have thought in the year that it was, the kind of whirlwind that it was, that that would be the season that I’d end up pitching in the World Series after getting released. It was an awesome experience and something I’ll never forget.”
Unfortunately for Mayza, 2025 has been a season to forget.
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