LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Throughout the winter, there were a number of Braves fans asking, “whatever happened to that Paul Byrd guy the Braves signed last year?”
At the time, the only answer was that the Braves were hoping the right-hander, who underwent Tommy John surgery on July 1 last year, would be available to contribute in some way some time around the All-Star break.
But now as the regular season approaches, the news has become even better. It appears Byrd’s elbow is nearing full strength and there’s a chance he could join the starting rotation some time in May. The Braves plan on sending him out on a monthlong, minor-league rehab assignment in early April.
“He’s a lot further along than I thought he would be,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “We’re just want to take it slow and see how he progresses.”
Byrd signed a two-year deal with the Braves after winning a career-best 17 games for the Royals in 2002. But after throwing just one inning last spring, he was shut down and eventually had to undergo the ligament-replacement procedure.
While it normally takes 11-12 months to come back from this surgery, the ever-optimistic Byrd had set his sights on being ready by Opening Day this year. But after consulting with the Braves medical personnel, he realizes it’s better to take some precaution.
“For every one person who has made it back after eight or nine months, I’ll show five or six who have tried and have failed,” Byrd said. “So I don’t have a problem waiting to make sure I’m definitely ready when I return.”
During the offseason, Byrd exercised his option to come back to Atlanta and collect $7 million this year. Now he simply wants to prove the $10 million dollar contract the Braves gave him wasn’t a waste.
“When I come back, I want to be back,” Byrd said. “I don’t want to be back at 80 percent. I want to show this team that I’m the pitcher that they signed. I think that’s what Bobby wants, too. He wants me to be ready and he wants to know what he’s getting when I come back.”
After throwing some on his own during the offseason, Byrd reported to Spring Training saying he was close to 90 percent. He has already faced live hitters, and Cox isn’t ruling out the possibility of the right-hander appearing in a game this spring.
This further proves the veteran manager has been impressed at what he’s seen. At the beginning of camp, Cox said Byrd wouldn’t appear in any Grapefruit League games.
“My arm feels great,” Byrd said. “I know I’m supposed to have a setback with this at some point. But so far, I haven’t had it.”
When Byrd returns, he should significantly help the Braves pitching staff. While Jaret Wright appears capable of filling the fifth spot in the rotation, Cox realizes having Wright as a starter somewhat weakens the bullpen.
With Byrd back in the rotation, Wright and Antonio Alfonseca would provide the Braves with a couple of power arms to utilize in setup roles for closer John Smoltz.