LOS ANGELES — Through the dark days, when Brock Stewart was bouncing between organizations desperate for roster security, he embarked on a plan for a better tomorrow.
He searched for an edge at the risk of serious injury, which would create an even further setback.
And then the worst-case scenario happened.
The success rate for Tommy John surgery is high, but for a pitcher without the stability of a dedicated roster spot, the unknown is brutal. Going from the major leagues to the independent leagues to a right-arm sling and back to the big leagues again is risk/reward personified.
After enrolling at the pitching lab Tread Athletics in Charlotte, N.C., in late 2020, Stewart picked up velocity on his fastball almost immediately. The 5-mph increase on his four-seam fastball came in a blur.
The elbow injury that followed was almost as quick.
“Yeah, I mean anytime, anytime you work on your velocity and try to get velocity, there’s a chance that you’re going to get injured,” Stewart said while in front of his new locker in the recently revamped clubhouse, with his new Dodgers jersey hanging behind him.
“But I don’t regret it for that one second, because it got me to this point, you know? It got me another opportunity to play professional baseball. It got me another opportunity in the big leagues.”
He got that with the Minnesota Twins, signing a two-year deal in 2022 and getting called up from the minors in 2023 after not pitching in the major leagues for four years. When the Twins got their fire sale started last Thursday, Stewart was the first piece jettisoned.
“I was a little shocked,” Stewart said when he learned of the trade. “If it was later on in the day, after the other nine other guys went, I wouldn’t have been that shocked.”
Plenty has been made about how Stewart started his career with the Dodgers, first as a sixth-round draft pick in 2014, then as a major leaguer for the first time in 2016.
He spent five years in the organization, surviving on a low 90-mph fastball, until he was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays in July 2019.
He returned last week, following a path that landed him in 2020 with the independent Chicago Deep Dish at one point. He is throwing high-90s cheese now and became the only late-inning reliever acquired at the trade deadline by a Dodgers team desperate for bullpen help.
But this isn’t his second turn with the Dodgers. The second one came late in 2020 when he re-signed with his original club after coming into that newfound velocity. It was while gearing up for the 2021 season, throwing near 100-mph darts in May of that year, that his elbow ligament failed.
To Stewart’s credit, even injured and unsure of his next move after his second Dodgers deal expired without ever pitching in Los Angeles, he never doubted his vision.
“I try to take things one day at a time and just do what I need to do to put myself in the best position to be able to help,” Stewart said. “So, it’s been quite a journey, but pretty happy with where my stuff is at right now and how I’m feeling, so just looking to keep going.”
Stewart’s first two home outings in a Dodgers uniform since last week’s trade came this week and he gave up runs in each to show that he remains in a transition period.
Against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, Stewart entered in the eighth inning and gave up consecutive bad-luck singles to start the outing before Yohel Pozo hit a go-ahead single with two outs in the Cardinals’ 3-2 victory.
Again against the Cardinals in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss, he gave up a run in the ninth inning while trying to keep the game at a one-run deficit. It was just the second time in 42 appearances he has given up runs in consecutive appearances.
The outings were not the Dodgers memories Stewart was looking to recreate. In his final 2019 home outing with the Dodgers, he gave up two runs on two hits and a walk while recording just two outs in 1⅓ innings. After a trip to Triple-A, he was later designated for assignment.
There was a distinct difference this time around, though. Stewart averaged about 92 mph with his fastball in that 2019 outing. He hit as high as 97.8 mph Monday before reaching 97.9 on Wednesday.
“Talk about a full-circle moment, kind of a whirlwind, to debut with this team in 2016 and nine years later to be back here,” Stewart said. “… Wild to be back here and to be on a winning team. Pretty excited.”
More signs of his transition in progress are evident. He still is using his red cleats and a red glove that better matched his Twins garb. His blue fashion accessories will arrive soon.
Until he sees those, along with outings more in line with what the Dodgers have projected, Stewart is being reminded to just be himself. His new self, anyway.
“He’s a high-leverage guy and he’s put himself in that position throughout the last couple years, and he was certainly needed for our ball club,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I’m going to use him as such, but I think that mentally, he’s a really even-keeled, good competitor. And like I said, this transition, with the familiarity, is making this pretty seamless.”
Stewart notes an increased sense of self and a maturity level from the last time he was spending significant time in Los Angeles and away from his Illinois roots.
“As cliché as it sounds, hard work does pay off,” he said.
Where he once threw a four-seam fastball, changeup and late-breaking slider, he has added a two-seamer to the mix and a sweeper with what he says has “pretty good horizontal movement.”
“(And) I’m definitely more physically mature, more mentally mature, than I was back in 2019,” he said.
Stewart has a wife and two kids now. A dog even. His family currently is working on the move out of the Minneapolis suburbs. The group will head back to its home base in Illinois before coming to Los Angeles.
Stewart’s dad and his dog are making the drive to the West Coast in Stewart’s truck. His wife and kids will arrive on a flight Sunday. Normalcy is on its way, at home and on the mound.
It takes a group – a faithful dog included – to make dreams happen. It wasn’t so long ago when the baseball part appeared to be slipping away.
“I just wanted another chance at professional baseball to be honest,” Stewart said. “I was sitting at home, injured, watching the Dodgers, watching the Twins, watching teams on TV, hoping that I would be back one day. I didn’t know how realistic it was to be back in the big leagues, but I worked hard and that hard work paid off.”
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