ST. LOUIS — With the Pirates clinging to a 6-4 lead against the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth inning on Monday, the bullpen door swung open and out came … Edgar Santana?
Keone Kela, the setup reliever who usually handles the eighth, didn’t even warm up. Kela remained seated as Santana put the first two batters on base. When Matt Adams slugged a three-run homer, Santana was replaced by Dovydas Neverauskas.
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Kela recently reported some arm fatigue and has not pitched since Sept. 3. Although the Pirates haven’t yet come out and said it, he probably will not get into another game this season. The reason is not the fatigue, which Kela insists is minor.
On Tuesday, Kela and manager Clint Hurdle said management hit the pause button with the hard-throwing right-hander in order to manage his workload. Kela, 25, began the season as the Texas Rangers’ closer before being traded to the Pirates on July 31. He’s tossed a total of 52 innings — most of them in high-pressure situations — over 54 outings.
“They just want to give me time off,” Kela said. “Just so everybody knows, my arm is not hurt. The velocity is there. My quality of pitches is there. It’s nothing for the fans or anybody to be worried about. (Management is) giving me the luxury of time to rest, look at where I’m at and get ready for next year. They want me to be able to set down deep roots here.”
Next year, Kela figures to be in line for heavy duty as the setup guy. He also will fill in as closer on nights when Felipe Vázquez is not available. Management doesn’t want to risk an injury to Kela over the final couple weeks of a lost season and jeopardize the plans for 2019.
“We’re still having conversations about (Kela),” Hurdle said. “We’re trying to figure out how we’re best suited moving forward. It’s all been leverage innings this year, all either the eighth or ninth inning. We’re trying to be mindful of his development.”
Since the trade, Kela has pitched in 15 1/3 innings over 16 games and has posted a 2.93 ERA, a 0.978 WHIP and a 12.9 K/9 rate. The first month that he spent with the Pirates was the busiest, in terms of innings and outings, of his career:
In addition to his 16 outings, there were several nights when Kela warmed up in the bullpen but did not go into the game. “When you add that up, it’s like I was throwing every day,” Kela said. On Sept. 1, Kela gave up four runs in one-third of an inning and took a loss against the Atlanta Braves. Two days later, he tossed a perfect ninth inning in a 5-1 victory against the Cincinnati Reds.
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“I feel good,” Kela said. “I got my shit kicked in by the Braves, but I pitched my next game against Cincinnati and it was 12 pitches, 1-2-3. My stuff has been there.”
The Pirates added five pitchers — Neverauskas, Tanner Anderson, Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes and Nick Burdi — when rosters expanded on Sept. 1, so Hurdle has plenty of other relief options.
The Rangers never gave Kela any kind of extended break when he was healthy. As a rookie in 2015, Kela was tied for 15th in the American League with 68 appearances. The next year, he had bone spurs removed from his elbow. In 2017, he spent almost a month on the disabled list due to shoulder soreness.
Kela has an offseason home in Dallas, but he spends a big chunk of each offseason in California.
“I spend time with family and cut baseball completely out of my life,” Kela said. “I try hard not to think about baseball, football or basketball, unless it’s a really good, quality matchup.”
When he’s on the West Coast, Kela purses his favorite hobby — reconditioning and cruising classic cars. He has a blue 1963 Chevy Impala with a custom paint job (all of it done by hand) and hydraulics and a red 1962 Impala rag-top convertible.
“I’m a Chevy guy,” Kela said, grinning. “I like Ford, but it has to be a specific car. I like Felipe’s car, his Ford GT 350. But I’m a Chevy guy. That’s just me. Ford makes some of the best trucks. But if you gave me the choice between an old-school (Ford) F-150 or a (Chevrolet) C10, I’m going to choose the C10.”
In a few years, Kela plans to expand his collection to include another manufacturer.
“I’m a big Cadillac guy, too,” Kela said. “I really want an old-school Cadillac, but I really think I have to reach a certain age to deserve that. I’m only 25. I don’t need to be driving a big old Fleetwood or anything right now.”
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As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, Kela airbrush painted plastic model cars, and that piqued his interest in the real thing. He got into what he calls “the car game” about four years ago, when he retooled a ’68 Cutlass Supreme. His next project was the convertible. The hobby is a combination of detective work, hard labor in the garage and socializing.
“I like going out and calling on local shops,” Kela said. “You meet some cool people from all walks of life. That’s what I enjoy about it. I like hopping in my car, driving two hours to go find a fender or an antenna or whatever. That’s so awesome because you meet people and hear the stories about how they got into the car game. That stuff really intrigues me because I think it’s a dying hobby.”
Kuhl remains in limbo
Right-hander Chad Kuhl (strained right forearm) wants to get in a game again before the end of the season, but that’s starting to seem very unlikely to happen.
Kuhl was supposed to throw off the bullpen mound on Tuesday afternoon but shut down his workout after he felt tightness while warming up on flat ground. He sat alone for several minutes near the visitor’s dugout, then chatted briefly with general manager Neal Huntington, who at one point put his arm around Kuhl’s shoulder.
Hurdle said he had no update to provide. Kuhl spoke briefly with The Athletic, but his answers were vague.
“Taking it day by day,” Kuhl said. “It would be nice (to pitch), just to see where we’re at. Whether it’s live BP or if it’s a real game, that clarity would be good. As we get closer, it looks more like a no. But I still want to build up to some competitive innings, and we’ll see what we get.”
Kuhl had a similar injury in 2016 but missed only a couple of starts. This time, he’s been on the DL since June 27. He got two opinions when the injury happened and said he doesn’t have any more doctor’s exams planned.
“Nothing scheduled right now,” Kuhl said. “I feel good right now. I’m all right.”
(Top photo credit: Justin Berl/Getty Images)