Wade LeBlanc wants to repay O's for having his back during injury

When a player uses the word "disaster" as part of the description of his season, it didn't go very well, Captain Obvious might say. For lefty Wade LeBlanc, it didn't go very well in the six starts he made for the 2020 Orioles before an injury sidelined him for the season.

LeBlanc, 36, recorded an ERA of 8.06 last summer with a 1.567 WHIP over 22 1/3 innings. Then his season ended on Aug. 23, when he left a start after facing four batters in the first inning at Boston. He had a stress fracture in his left elbow, although it did not required surgery.

It took him about 10 or 11 weeks to feel healthy again, he said, and after about 14 weeks, he felt like the injury had never happened.

But his ERA is 6.08 over his last two seasons since his last solid year of 2018, when he went 9-5 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.179 WHIP for the Seattle Mariners.

"Not a whole lot, other than just a disaster," LeBlanc said during a Saturday Zoom interview when discussing his 2020 results. "From the COVID stuff to the injury to the performance, it wasn't what I envisioned in any way really. So to be able to have an organization like this give you another chance to kind of make good on the contract is a blessing for me. And I'm not going to waste it.

"Feel pretty good. Feels like it's early in spring, but that's part of it. The buildup process is a part of it every year. You deal with it and kind of get used to the ups and downs. You throw one inning, then you throw two, and so on and so forth. Just dealing with the typical soreness of that stuff, but health-wise, feel really good."

As for playing another season and dealing with a pandemic and protocols, LeBlanc said that has gotten easier for players.

"The unknowns were the scariest part," he said. "That is why you saw a lot of guys opt out early last year. Just because you didn't know what we were dealing with, what it was going to look like. But now, having gone through it and having seen other leagues go through it, knowing that we did it last year and were successful in dealing with it through the World Series, I think a lot of guys are more confident and comfortable with the protocols, with the intake stuff and all the things that you're going to deal with on a day-to-day basis. I don't want to say a new normal, but definitely more comfortable with it."

When it comes to what LeBlanc wants to see from himself during spring games, he had a similar answer to what Orioles manager Brandon Hyde would later say about the three veteran rotation candidates, including Félix Hernández and Matt Harvey.

"Just the swings," said LeBlanc. "And that's every spring. Whether coming off an injury or not, you just want to see swings and the way a hitter takes your pitches. Just to see if the stuff is coming out the same way that it always has. And, you know, kind of results aren't as important in spring - you'd like to have the good games just because you're a competitor - but for me, it's more about seeing what the hitters are seeing from me. And that's how I'm going to grade from day to day."

Said Hyde of evaluating the veterans: "It's going to be such a small sample from a numbers standpoint. So I don't think we're going to be looking at numbers, but we will be looking at you know, what their pitches look like. If they look healthy. The kind of swings that they're getting from opposing hitters. I think all those type of things are going to be important. Just because you give up a three-run homer in a two-inning stint, your numbers will get inflated. That happens a couple times. So I think it's not about ERA or that type of thing, (but) we're going to be looking at the kind of swings opposing hitters are taking off these guys."

In this entry, LeBlanc talked about some good feelings between him and the Orioles organization. The tie between team and player became even stronger, he said, as club officials continued to monitor and check on his injury, even as he was reaching free agency. For a time, he was not under contract to the Orioles, but the team kept reaching out. LeBlanc said that made him want to be an Oriole again this season.

So the club that first signed him as a minor league free agent on Feb. 3, 2020 did so again on Feb. 3, 2021.

He said it was rare to have a team react in that manner with a free agent.

"I think so. I don't think it's normal for a team to stay in contact with a free agent who was injured when he was with them and quite frankly didn't perform very well," LeBlanc said. "So for me, that was, from day one of the offseason, if the Orioles come back with any type of interest, it's a no-brainer for me. The way that they saw me through the process of the injury, the way that they helped me with the hurricanes back home (in Lake Charles, La.). They did everything in their power to help us raise money and raise awareness for the situations back home. There is just so much that they went above and beyond with. It made a huge impact on the way that I viewed this organization."

LeBlanc sounds like yet another veteran O's player that is happy to help and/or mentor the young Birds. And he added that the good chemistry he saw from the club last summer is back.

"It's the same vibe from last year, which is great," he stated. "It's a positive atmosphere from the top down. The front office is providing everything the players need to be successful at this level. And everybody feels like we're pulling on the same side of the rope, which is great. That's not something that happens on every squad. It's exciting to be a part of. It's exciting to watch these kids come up and get their first full taste of the major leagues. I wish you guys (media) were here in the clubhouse, so they could get that part of it, too. You know, all these small things that are part of the experience of being a major leaguer that these kids kind of are missing out on is kind of a bummer. But you take it as it comes and you kind of watch those kids grow up, which is awesome."

Game one today: The Orioles will open their spring training schedule this afternoon at 1:05 p.m. when they host Pittsburgh at Ed Smith Stadium. Right-hander Thomas Eshelman will get the start. Others expected to pitch include Fernando Abad, Eric Hanhold, Josh Rogers, Isaac Mattson, Marcos Diplán and Conner Greene.

Hyde told reporters yesterday that Trey Mancini will start at first base today. Hyde said he expects Mancini to play every other day as the games begin and then ramp that up later. Hyde also said Mancini's defense will probably be limited to first base during the early games, with him not expected at this point to play in the outfield.