Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A day later, Tyler Anderson came through OK.
Coming off left knee surgery that will postpone the start of his season, the Giants starting pitcher threw his first bullpen session Monday, zipping 25 fastballs out without feeling pain.
He hadn’t taken the mound since the June surgery that ended his tenure in Colorado, where he had started with such promise but hit both injury and home-run stumbles.
There was plenty of excitement and no nerves, he said. “Maybe [there would have been] if I had been hurting during my recovery, but I feel like my recovery’s been going really well. … It’s exciting because I didn’t feel bad.”
There was little attention paid to the radar gun, and the Giants won’t accelerate a timetable that already is ahead of schedule. When he was first acquired, they thought he would be headed to the 60-day IL, but barring setbacks, he may be seen in May.
“We’ve been taking it slow,” said the 30-year-old lefty, adding there is no date in mind for his debut. “It’s hard to plan for anything.”
He will have a wildly better park to call home, going from pitchers’ hell to heaven from Coors to Oracle Park. He’ll also have many new sets of eyes on him, a surprise pick-up joining the team on the ground floor.
“There’s a good buzz with the front office, a whole new regime, they’re thinking about the game in a different way,” Anderson said Tuesday.