Melancon says he’s back to ‘normal’ after two injury-filled seasons

SAN FRANCISCO — When the Giants signed reliever Mark Melancon in 2017, the intent was for him to be the anchor of a bullpen that would be pitching deep into October every season.

That, of course, has not come to pass.

In the two years prior to signing a four-year, $62 million contract with San Francisco, Melancon saved 98 games. In his two years with the San Francisco Giants, he’s saved only 14.

“Obviously it wasn’t the first two years that I envisioned or wanted,” Melancon said. “Bad timing, but you gotta get through it.”

Injury and inconsistency are to blame for Melancon’s precipitous slide, but heading into year three of his Giants tenure, the 33-year-old reliever is optimistic that he can start to re-write his legacy in orange and black.

“I’m feeling great,” Melancon said. “This offseason has been great. I haven’t felt my arm like this in a long time. I feel like I should. I feel normal... Not to feel it — it’s an extremely relieving feeling.”

The “it” Melancon is referring to is his tight right pronator muscle in his forearm.

Melancon was sidelined by that pronator three times in 2017, leading to surgery to relieve pressure in the muscle in September 2017.

But the issues didn’t go away: Last year, a right elbow flexor strain kept him from starting his season until June. He underwent a stem-cell injection into the pronator April 2018 in an effort to alleviate the elbow discomfort.

“Every outing is painful,” Melancon said last May.