Just Mets

It’s been more than a year and a half since Bobby Parnell was completely healthy and pitching effectively, and while it’s a minor league game, he will make his long awaited return to game action on Saturday.

Parnell has made one relief appearance since July 30, 2013. Parnell was then diagnosed with a herniated disk in his neck, and had surgery about six weeks later.

He returned in Spring Training last year and struggled, both in effectiveness and with his velocity. He made his 2014 debut on Opening Day and immediately blew his first save chance.

The next day, Parnell was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right elbow, ending his season and comeback attempt from the herniated disk which short circuited his excellent 2013 season.

This was all very frustrating for Parnell, considering he had shown tremendous growth before these injuries had taken their toll. Prior to his neck injury, Parnell had converted 22 saves while finishing 41 games in 2013, going 5-5 with a 2.16 ERA in 49 games with 44 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 50 innings of work in 2013.

“It was a tough hurdle to get over but I kept moving forward, kept trying to stay positive,” Parnell told me. “There were guys down here who had the same surgery, so I was able to talk with them and hang out with them a little bit. Not throwing was definitely a tough hurdle but something I had to overcome.”

Parnell believes his neck injury in 2013 could have impacted his elbow injury last spring, as it impacted his ability to get into what he believed was the proper shape he needed to begin for Spring Training.

“I didn’t make any lies about it, but I didn’t come into shape the way I wanted to or the way I usually do [last spring],” Parnell explained to me earlier this month. “The throwing program wasn’t the best as a result. It was just unfortunate.”

As is the case with many Tommy John patients, Parnell was nervous about throwing for the first time after surgery.

It was more of a mental hurdle than a physical hurdle,” Parnell explained. “I think by that point they say that your arm’s capable of doing whatever it wants to do, so you just have to go out there and have faith the surgery went well and that it’s not going to happen again.”

Parnell’s spring this year hasn’t gone as expected either, thanks to a hamstring strain which has kept him out of game action to this point. In addition, it’s not clear where Parnell will fit in the bullpen once he’s ready to return. Terry Collins said earlier this winter Parnell is his closer, but later said if Jenrry Mejia is performing in that role to start the year, he will not lose his job to Parnell when he returns, which should be sometime in May.

Still, the most important thing is Parnell is healthy, and he’s happy with his recovery from both his neck and elbow surgeries.

“It feels good, it feels solid, the surgery went well, the rehab’s gone well, I feel like I’m in a good place right now and I like the direction we’re going,” he said.

Hopefully, the direction he’s going in brings a return to the success he was enjoying in 2013, regardless of the role he’s in.