Pirates A to Z: Nick Mears recovered from elbow surgery to make late-season return

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z: An alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Miguel Andujar to pitcher Miguel Yajure.

Player: Nick Mears

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Age: 26 (Oct. 7)

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 200 pounds

2022 MLB statistics: Allowed no runs on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts in two innings over two appearances.

Contract: Not yet eligible for arbitration.

Acquired: Signed as a non-drafted free agent in August 2018.

This past season: When the Pirates traded relievers Austin David, Clay Holmes and Richard Rodriguez at the 2021 deadline, Mears moved into a setup role.

Mears is an amazing story. He signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Sacramento City College for $15,000 in August 2018, spent the following season in Low-A and made his major league debut a year later.

After pitching in four games in 2020, Mears made 30 appearances last season and was 1-0 with a 5.08 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 28 1/3 innings, with four blown saves.

The Pirates were counting on having him in the back end of their bullpen, but offseason arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow set Mears back and he didn’t get called up until the final week of the season.

“When a guy makes a good impression and does good things then, all of a sudden he has an injury and has to battle through it, it had to be extremely frustrating and challenging for him,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I give him a ton of credit for working hard to put himself in a position to be back here.”

Mears was activated from the 60-day injured list on Aug. 20, and had rehabilitation assignments with Low-A Bradenton and Triple-A Indianapolis before making it to the majors. He was 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, 27 strikeouts and 17 walks in 24 2/3 innings over 23 appearances for Indianapolis.

The Pirates rewarded his resolve by recalling Mears on Oct. 3, after optioning rookie right-hander Luis Ortiz following his final start of the season.

Mears made two appearances against the St. Louis Cardinals. In a 3-2 win on Oct. 3, he replaced Manny Banuelos with one out in the eighth inning and got a groundout, gave up a walk and recorded a strikeout. In a 5-3 win on Oct. 5, he replaced Banuelos with two outs in the seventh and gave up a single before getting a strikeout for the final out. Mears then pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.

“I think it’s very encouraging because when you battle through and work hard to get back on the field, it’s nice to get that reward at the end of the year, like, ‘I came in. I did everything to get back to the big league level,’” Shelton said of Mears. “For him, that’s important. For us, we’re filling a need, with three games left, making sure we fill innings. Our starters have been so short for the last four or five days just because we’ve run into innings limits with a lot of young kids so it’s nice to have a fresh arm in the bullpen.”

GoPro clip of a 96.3 fastball @NickMears46 @Pirates @PitchingNinja pic.twitter.com/ZTCRd0xdN2

— Optimum Athletes (@AthletesOptimum) February 3, 2021

The future: That the Pirates used Mears in the eighth inning in both of his appearances was a good sign, given that they still are searching for a setup man for All-Star closer David Bednar.

Mears averages 96.6 mph on his four-seam fastball, a velocity that ranks in the 84th percentile in the majors per Statcast. He added a slider with 9.5 inches of vertical break — 3.6 above the average — and has a hammer curveball that serves as his putout pitch. Where Mears has averaged 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 36 major league games, he’s also averaged 6.2 walks. That’s a number he needs to reduce to solidify a spot in the bullpen.

“He’s got exceptional pitch metrics that allow him to do some things that other guys can’t do, not only velocity but he’s got vertical break and now he’s got this slider that he’s messed with a little bit this year that I think is going to make him even better,” Pirates bullpen coach Justin Meccage said. “Hopefully, he can continue to stay healthy. We expect good things from him.”