BRADENTON, Fla. — Roansy Contreras bent his elbow, curled his wrist and brought his right arm upward and parallel to the ground, a move made to mimic the delivery of a pitch.
During his most recent side session at Pirate City, Contreras was unhappy with the release point on his curveball and cycled through a few mental cues.
Although Contreras does plan to use his curveball more this season, the entire thing felt bigger than just one pitch. Contreras’ body language showed someone with a better understanding of how his body moves and the confidence to make changes on the fly.
Those two things eluded Contreras in 2023, as his velocity dropped and the 24-year-old lugged around a 6.59 ERA in 19 big-league games. That led to a bullpen demotion and eventually a trip to the Florida Complex League, where Contreras tried to rediscover himself.
“If you look back, the first two months were OK,” Contreras — who had a 4.33 ERA through May — said, with major-league coach Stephen Morales translating. “The velocity wasn’t there, but I caught myself trying to do more and more. I think that’s why it didn’t go my way. I tried to do too much.”
The feeling is certainly a familiar one for Mitch Keller, whose struggles should offer a reminder that the maturation of a young pitcher doesn’t happen overnight, even though everyone wants it to. There are challenges and frustrations, times when you can’t help but feel defeated.
Keller was there. So was Contreras when he struggled to repeat his mechanics, leading to a bad combination of walks and pitches left over the heart of the plate.
“In my case and his case, your brain’s telling you how to move, but you’re not doing it,” Keller said. “That’s the frustrating part. Like, I know what my mechanics are supposed to look like. But I’m not doing it. “
It’s a very baseball feeling, just on a different level for the pros. You throw the ball, hit the ball and catch the ball, right? But neither Contreras nor Keller competed alone. The guy with the bat did damage to them both.
Which is why Keller — who had a 6.02 ERA and walked 4.4 batters per nine innings over his first three big-league seasons — had this advice for his former self: breathe.
“You’re so hard on yourself sometimes,” Keller said. “I think that can put you in a deeper struggle because it’s not clicking or working like it has for your whole career.”
Contreras has felt that pain. At one point, he was the Pirates’ top pitching prospect. “Happy Ro Day” was something players would wish each other when Contreras pitched.
There was a cameo in September 2021 and 21 games with a 3.79 ERA (across 95 innings) the following season. Excitement and promise surrounded Contreras’ ascent, especially when he pitched for his native Dominican Republic in the most recent World Baseball Classic.
Then the bottom fell out.
The Pirates worried about how Contreras was moving down the mound, trying to get him to adjust the speed and angle of his delivery. At one point, after giving up seven runs and recording just one out on June 7, Contreras said it felt like his arm wasn’t connected to the rest of his body.
“The body movement is really important, but I think what’s gonna help me out is sticking to my mechanics and making sure they’re solid, continuing to do the same things that I’ve been doing with the pitching guys here,” Contreras said. “Overall, solid mechanics are going to help me maintain being myself and being consistent.”
It hasn’t been long, but Contreras has been making a solid impression during spring training, especially with his manager. Shelton backed the changes the Pirates pitching group wanted to make with Contreras last season and supported giving him a different forum to work on those adjustments in the FCL.
Shelton also watched Contreras throw a side session Thursday and a live BP a couple days before that, noticing how free and easy the pitcher has looked.
“He’s more confident and fluid with the way he’s moving down the mound,” Shelton said.
The Pirates could obviously really use Contreras. Along with Quinn Priester and Luis Ortiz, they're the most logical options to supplement the starting rotation, along with a potential trade or free-agent signing.
But if you look at ceilings or recent performance, there's some intriguing stuff there with Contreras, who was flat-out dominant not long ago, an arm so dynamic that the Pirates probably got a little too careful with his usage.
Similar to Keller, Contreras has learned all the things he can't afford to do. He has to bury his breaking stuff and find consistency with the location of his fastball — and obviously rediscover velocity by becoming more comfortable with biomechanical changes.
"Last year was really hard," Contreras said. "You go up and down. The hardest part was trying to find myself and the pitcher that I know I can be."
After an offseason when he made occasional visits to Pirate City, Contreras believes he's back on a familiar path.
One that has him realizing his considerable potential.
"It’s not just physical but sometimes mental, as well," Contreras said. "I've looked at ways to feel really sound with my mechanics and body-wise when it comes to balance. Overall, I just feel good with all of my movements.
"I've been working a lot and I feel like I'm in a way better spot."
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: February 16, 2024, 9:17 p.m.
Updated: February 17, 2024, 4:30 p.m.