Deliberate Loaisiga not getting bothered by clock
TAMPA — Jonathan Loaisiga had the distinction of being the slowest pitcher in baseball last season with nobody on base, and now in a spring training where the pitch clock is being introduced, he is leaving to play in the World Baseball Classic.
But the Yankees and Loaisiga are encouraged about how he looks early in camp, both against the pitch clock and opposing batters, as he prepares for a season in which manager Aaron Boone hopes he can carry a different distinction.
“I think he looks outstanding,” Boone said. “In 2021, he was awesome all year. In 2022, his second half and then postseason [were strong].
“Hopefully now he puts that all together and you see this monster reliever we know he’s capable of being.”
Loaisiga struggled through the first half of last season, and by the time he landed on the injured list in May with a shoulder impingement, he had a 7.02 ERA across 16 2/₃ innings. But after he came back in July — with a slight tweak in his mechanics to make sure his shoulder wasn’t lagging behind in his delivery — Loaisiga finished the regular season on a much higher note (a 1.76 ERA over his final 31 games) and then was one of the few relievers that Boone could trust in the postseason.
The Yankees are banking on Loaisiga continuing that kind of pitching this season, when he will be one of their go-to arms for high-leverage spots in the late innings. And so far, it does not look like the pitch clock will get in the way of that.
While Loaisiga averaged an MLB-high 19.8 seconds between pitches with nobody on last season, he made some tweaks to his in-between-pitch routine to abide
by the 15-second timer.
“I cut a little bit of that prepreparation between pitches,” Loaisiga said Monday through an interpreter. “But I feel like I’m at a really good pace. As of right now, every pitch I make, I still have between three and four seconds left on the clock. I feel like I have adjusted pretty well to it.”
Loaisiga will miss some time getting used to the clock as he is scheduled to leave the Yankees on Thursday to join Team Nicaragua in Miami, with its first game set for Saturday against Puerto Rico. While players leaving spring training for the WBC comes with a certain level of concern — especially for pitchers as
they try to stay healthy for the start of the regular season — Loaisiga believes the tournament has him in a good spot after beginning his offseason training earlier.
“I came in [to camp] further ahead of where I’m usually at at this time in spring training,” he said.
Now, Loaisiga is preparing to play for his country. He is one of only two players on the Nicaraguan team that are on a 40-man roster, joining Nationals righthander Erasmo Ramirez.
Loaisiga, one of only 15 Nicaragua-born players to make it to the major leagues, remembers growing up watching the likes of Dennis
Martinez, Vicente Padilla and Everth Cabrera. The former major leaguers would come back home to Nicaragua and be showered by fans, and Loaisiga wanted to see how that felt in the future.
“It’s definitely something I don’t take lightly and I appreciate and understand the responsibility,” he said.
“It’s an honor, really. I feel so proud to have that opportunity to play for my country. The whole country’s going to be watching. It’s a great tournament. People are watching from everywhere. So yeah, very excited. Happy to give everything I have and it’s going to be an exciting time.”