Ty Adcock makes quick leap to Mariners bullpen after lost years to injuries
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 12: Ty Adcock #70 of the Seattle Mariners pitches in his MLB debut during the eighth inning against the Miami Marlins at T-Mobile Park on June 12, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
SEATTLE - Ty Adcock lost three professional seasons to injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic. He was still pitching in Single-A in April. But Adcock got the call-up to the Seattle Mariners and pitched two scoreless innings in his MLB debut on Monday night.
"It's a very fast ride," Adcock admitted on Tuesday. "I know it doesn't happen often. But I knew how big this year was for me and I knew what I could achieve if I did the right things."
Adcock called both his wife, Jordan, and his parents on FaceTime to let them know they needed to meet him in Seattle on Monday with varying levels of disbelief. He then found himself stuck waiting over two hours on a delayed connecting flight in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport on Monday afternoon.
"As soon as they got word of it, they immediately booked flights," Adcock said. They got here at like 9 o'clock in the morning. So they were here just like touring the city, while I'm in Dallas just hanging out."
Adcock eventually made it to T-Mobile park around 4 p.m. and would make his debut later that night. It marked a stunningly quick move to the big leagues after an excruciating three years where he was barely able to throw at all.
Adcock was a two-way player at Elon University where he pitched and played in right field and was teammates with Mariners starter George Kirby. After being drafted by the Mariners in the eighth round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Adcock would go three seasons without pitching professionally. Wear-and-tear from the workload in college led Adcock to get his shoulder evaluated. It was determined that he had a shoulder impingement and "slap" tear in his shoulder labrum led to him needing surgery and missing the short season campaign in 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic then wiped out the minor league seasons in 2020 with only a development camp available for pitchers that summer. Adcock experienced some elbow soreness during that camp in North Carolina that was diagnosed as tendon strain.
"I think – this is me personally – I think my shoulder issues and COVID happening and then me trying to build back up a little bit too quickly may have caused some elbow issues," Adcock said.
"I was doing a bunch of throwing there and I think I tried to ramp it up a little bit too quickly. And I think it might have hurt me a little bit."
Adcock came into spring training in 2021 feeling great only to tear his ulnar collateral ligament in an intra squad game.
"First live outing in spring training in 2021 ended up blowing it out," Adcock said.
"I try to just keep that video on (instagram) just to remind myself that like that was real and, you know, I've overcome it. … "I’m just super grateful that I came out the other side with the same stuff I had, and maybe even a little bit better. I just credit that to the hard work that I put in every single day in Arizona and just trying to stack quality days on top of each other, instead of trying to look too far ahead."
Adcock had Tommy John surgery in April 2021 and finally returned to action in the Arizona Complex League last August. After two appearances in Arizona, he joined the Single-A Modesto Nuts for six more appearances to close out the minor league season. He pitched eight more games in the Arizona Fall League as he continued to build back up.
Adcock had just one appearance with the Mariners in spring training before being reassigned to minor league camp. He pitched two scoreless innings for Seattle and was sent to begin his season with the Everett Aquasox in High-A.
Adcock pitched in six games for Everett in April with no runs allowed in seven innings. He allowed just one hit with a pair of walks with nine strikeouts before earning a promotion to Double-A Arkansas in May. With the Travelers, Adcock appeared in 12 games. He allowed three earned runs in 13 innings pitched (2.08 ERA) with seven hits, a walk and 13 strikeouts.
Adcock said that the work he put in during his rehab from Tommy John surgery actually helped to prepare him to be a better pitcher in the long run.
"That 14–16 months has helped build such a strong foundation," Adcock said. "In my routine and everything I do on the field, pre-throw post-throw arm care, everything. Honestly, as weird as it sounds. I'm thankful that it happened to me because now I feel like I'm a big leaguer in the way I go about things. A lot more proactive and just taking care of my work in a professional manner."
With Penn Murfee going back on the injured list on Monday with an elbow issue, the Mariners needed bullpen help. They could have called Matt Festa back up from Triple-A Tacoma. Instead, they elected to bring Adcock up from Arkansas and give him a chance.
"We had a need," manager Scott Servais said. "We've had some guys go down. He's thrown the ball great. He gets an opportunity and the biggest thing he's done, he's got good stuff obviously, but he throws strikes."
Servais told Adcock it was pretty likely he would get into the game against Miami on Monday. With the Mariners holding a six-run lead in the late innings, it provided a soft landing for Adcock's first appearance.
"I knew I was probably going to be in there if we were in a good situation for me," Adcock said. "I felt comfortable. It didn't feel too foreign on the mound for me. I just think because I try to oversimplify things on the mound with my stuff. I try to trust my pitches and everything I got and just attack the hitter. And then, you know, whatever happens after the ball leaves my hand, it happens. You can't control it after that happens."
Adcock entered the game for the seventh inning after Bryce Miller allowed just a lone hit on a solo home run over six innings of work in his start.
"I know I got my family in the stands. Try not to look at them or anything like that. Just trying to stay dialed in," Adcock said. "But you can't compare or create that same kind of adrenaline that you get on this field compared to like Arkansas or anything like that. So, yeah. Needless to say, (the adrenaline) was pumping through me pretty hard."
Adcock pitched two clean innings with some help from his defense to help corral a few sharply hit balls. He had to get an extra out as well as an error allowed former Mariner Jean Segura to reach base.
"It all came together for him. Good for him," Servais said. "He’ll get other opportunities here as we move forward. … Not much experience pitching professional baseball, and that’s OK, too. Part of what we do here is we’ve got to keep developing at the major-league level and he’s going continue to learn a lot here. He’ll get more opportunities, for sure."
Kirby – who was the Mariners first-round pick the same year Adcock was drafted – was excited to see Adcock get a chance with the team.
"That was awesome," Kirby said. "We went to school together a few years at Elon. Seen him struggle through his injuries and see his perseverance to come back, that was awesome. I was really happy for him. To see him and his family here, pretty freaking cool that we're both up here doing our thing."