Padres’ Cosart planning to honor Fernandez this year
Inspired by the late Marlin, he hopes to make a fresh start.
PEORIA, ARIZ. — The l a s t two years of Jarred Cosart’s career served a reminder that, for all its benefifits, life in the major leagues can be unforgiving. On the mound, he was largely unable to replicate the success he experienced early in his career. Recurring blisters followed him as he moved from one coast to another. Just hours after he exited a game with elbow inflflammation, a close friend died.
I n s p i r e d b y t h e s a me friend, Cosart has embarked on what he c alls a “fresh start.”
“2017,” he said Friday, “is going to be an all-positive for me.”
The Padres right-hander joined his fourth organization in July. He had been traded from the Marlins, where, in the summer of 2 014 , he met a c ol or f ul , young ace named Jose Fernandez. At the time, Fernandez had recently undergone Tommy John surgery.
“When I got there, he was going through his rehab process,” Cosart said. “It’s kind of easy to say we judged him. He was a difffffffffffferent kind of guy. And then we got really close in 2015.”
O n S e p t . , C o s a r t pitched only one inning at Petco Park before his start was ended. He said after the game that, just weeks before, he’d learned of a bone spur in the back of his right elbow.
Early the next morning, Fernandez and two friends were killed in a boating accident offff the coast of Miami Beach.
A profound sadness settled over the sport. The Marlins’ game later that day was canceled. Tributes poured in from all corners of the baseball world.
O n I n s t a g r a m, C o s a r t wrote: “Don’t know what to say besides I love you. Keep shining in heaven, ace.”
“He had the world in front of him, probably better than any pitcher I’ve seen,” Cosart said Friday. “It’s shocking; he’s gone now. But you try and live on. I know for a lot of guys, he meant a lot. So I’m playing for him. We all know he’s here in spirit. He’s probably playing catch right now as we speak.”
Fernandez’s passing has prov i ded per spec t ive t o Cosart’s current situation. Though he showed glimpses of his talent last season, he fifinished with a 6.03 ERA in nine starts for the Padres. He is one of about eight candidates vying for two openings in the starting rotation.
Like his fellow competitors, Cosart has reasons for optimism. His arm, he said, feels better than it has in any previous spring.
On Oct. 19, he underwent surgery to remove a 5-centimeter bone spur from his elbow.
“T h e d o c t o r s t h i n k i t could’ve been in there for years,” Cosart said. “That’s always been my area of soreness, so maybe it’s been there awhile.”
No complic ations have since arisen, and Cosart is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut in early March. There is no cure- all for blisters — Cosart has spent considerable time trying to “toughen up” his hands in rice buckets — but he has yet to notice any warning signs. The arid Arizona climate has helped.
“Right now, it’s been nothing but positive,” said Cosart, who recorded a 3.26 ERA over his first t wo seasons in the majors before being traded from the Astros to the Marlins.
“I just feel like my extension’s better on my pitches. So far, my command’s been better, my bullpens. Velocity feels good. I’m excited for that to hopefully translate into on-field success, like I had in 2013, 2014. ... Now it’s a matter of going out and executing pitches.”
Honoring a friend also has been on Cosart’s mind. For Christmas, he received a hockey jersey with Fernandez’s name and No. 16. “I was trying to get 16 (with the Padres), but Travis Jankowksi had a pretty good fifirst year in it,” said Cosart, who wears No. 55.
The background photo on Cosart’s phone is of a smiling Fernandez.
I t ’s a re minder when you’re having a bad day,” Cosart said. “He was always smiling. He was flflamboyant. You always knew when Jose was around.
“It’s always a way to make me smile when something’s going wrong.”