Kahnle set for next chapter
EX-N.Y. reliever looks forward to return, chance to win with L.A.
Tommy Kahnle pitched once during the 2020 season with the New York Yankees and the Shaker graduate may not throw at all during the 2021 Major League Baseball season, yet the righthanded reliever is reinvigorated about what lies ahead after moving from one iconic organization to another.
Kahnle, who had Tommy John surgery Aug. 5 after working one inning against the Washington Nationals July 26, became a free agent at the end of the season. The 31-year-old considered his options and signed a two-year, $4.75 million deal, including a $650,000 signing bonus, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. There are incentives built in for the 2022 season that could add an additional $750,000 for pitching in 60 and 70 games.
“During the whole process, they were so forward and always checking in,” Kahnle said. “Obviously, one of the big markers for me was going to a winning team that has a chance to win a championship. The Dodgers checked off one of those markers big time.
Throughout the whole process, they just seemed to be into me and really wanted me. They made it feel that way. Everyone I talked to, from the GM, the president, the training staff and the coaches, they seemed to be intrigued and wanted to get to know me.”
When it was time to make his final decision, Kahnle ultimately selected the Dodgers over the Boston
Red Sox.
“Boston checked off things location-wise, but I just felt the Dodgers gave me the best opportunity for success, to rehab and have a chance to win a World Series.”
Kahnle has just begun the fifth month of his rehab process. The 2007 Shaker graduate is pleased with his progress thus far.
“I am getting stronger every day,” Kahnle said. “I am just waiting to get the OK to start throwing. It should be shortly. I am expecting to be throwing in a couple of weeks. We’ll take it from there.”
“He is pretty focused about getting back,” said College of Saint Rose baseball coach Wayne Jones, who served as Kahnle’s pitching coach at Shaker and with the South Troy Dodgers. “Every time I talk to him, he is rehabbing. He is definitely focused.”
Kahnle is working out six days a week, taking Sunday off each week. He said the hardest part since suffering his injury was not being able to be around his teammates in New York. The coronavirus pandemic protocols kept Kahnle away from the Yankees’ facilities, so he never really got a chance to say goodbye after New York decided not to re-sign him.
After helping Lynn University win a Division II national championship in 2009, Kahnle was drafted in the fifth round (175th overall selection) by the Yankees in the 2010 MLB draft. He was later claimed as a Rule 5 selection by the Colorado Rockies and pitched his first two seasons in MLB with
them in 2014 and 2015. His next stop was the Chicago White Sox, where he pitched in 2016 and part of 2017 before being dealt to the Yankees. Kahnle proved to be a key component of New York’s bullpen during playoff runs in 2017 and 2019.
Summarizing his time with the Yankees, which included a 2.33 earned-run average, two holds and one save in 191⁄ innings during
3 postseason play, Kahnle said, “It was a great experience. When I was in the minors, I had some good years and I had some bad years. It was up and down. From when I came back to have a great second half in (2017) with them was awesome. In (2018), it wasn’t a good year. I was hurt all year and tried to fight through it. That was very dumb of me and I learned not to do that anymore. When I came back in (2019), I had a really good year. Overall, it was a very good experience.
“I gained a lot of friendships out of it and some good postseason experience. It is hard to do that. Not many guys can say they pitched in the ALCS.”
Kahnle figures to spend most, if not all, of the 2021 season rehabbing from surgery. That means he will likely spend the bulk of that time in Arizona.
As his career has evolved, Kahnle has implemented the changeup more and more in
his repertoire. During a 2019 season in New York where he went 3-2 with a 3.67 ERA and 88 strikeouts over 611⁄
3 innings, the right-hander had a whiff rate of 48.5 percent against lefty hitters and 42.0 percent vs. righty hitters using his changeup.
“I always threw it. In high school, I never used it much. I barely threw it,” Kahnle said. “It was the same in college. It was always fastball and curveball. When I got into the minors with the Yankees, that is when I started to use it.”
When he was throwing for the Charleston Riverdogs, the Yankees’ Class A affiliate in the Southern League in 2011, pitching coach Carlos Chantres suggested Kahnle change his grip from twoseam to a four-seam change.
“He said, ‘You throw a four-seam fastball, so why not throw a four-seam changeup.’ I started doing it and it got even better,” Kahnle said. “From there, I used it, but not the same as I have basically the last five years. In (2015) with Colorado, it was my go-to pitch — even though I did not have a great year. Over the last few years really is when people started to notice that it was my go-to pitch. Before, the usage rate probably wasn’t there.”
“I think that is what got him over the hump — going from a hard-throwing reliever that everyone seems to
have to a reliever with a second pitch that is unhittable,” Jones said.
As he prepares to embark on his eighth MLB season, Kahnle thinks back to those who helped him realize his dream. He is especially appreciative of the guidance he has received, and continues to garner, from Jones.
Both Kahnle and Cincinnati pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who each had their No. 23 retired by Shaker in 2017, worked under Jones.
“I am proud of both those guys. They set their minds to something, doing this for their life, and worked to make it happen,” Jones said. “Seeing them and Ian (Anderson) make it, that is just good for the Capital Region. It is awesome.”
Even though he likely will not see the mound in a game during 2021, Kahnle is thrilled with his decision to compete for an organization coming off a World Series title in 2020.
“I could not be any happier on the decision to go with the Dodgers,” Kahnle said. “The main goal of my career is to win a World Series. I want to be able to lift that trophy and get a ring. That is a memory you want. It was something I have wanted since running around in North Colonie.”