Baumler feels 'like a normal ballplayer again' in return from TJ surgery

Moments after he finished up a simulated game against some of the Orioles’ top positional prospects at Minor League camp in Sarasota, Fla., Carter Baumler sat in front of an Orioles backdrop, said hello to the local Baltimore media on Zoom and reveled in something he hadn’t sensed in quite a while.

“I just feel like a normal ballplayer again, you know?” Baumler said. “It's been a while. … I'd like to just be a normal ballplayer again.”

That was the takeaway from Tuesday’s session, as the O’s welcomed position players for the first day of organized workouts at Minor League camp. Baumler, recovering from Tommy John surgery that was necessitated following an injury at October 2020 instructional camp, has been slowly inching his way back towards competition for the past several weeks.

And now, after a lost 2021 season for him personally and a canceled ’20 campaign for all of Minor League Baseball, the O's No. 27 prospect foresees a fully healthy, productive ’22.

“My first outing, I wasn't locating like I wanted to. I'm very hard on myself,” Baumler said. “But just being back out on the mound, facing hitters, I got the feeling that this is why I like baseball so dang much.

“I know how I'm pitching right now is where I'd like to be, and I know there's still some improvements that I want to make, but I'm on track to have a normal year. I feel healthy, and like I said, it's so good to be back out there.”

When he does return to formal game action, though his exact Minor League affiliation is to be determined, Baumler will make his debut in black and orange. The club’s fifth-round selection in the 2020 Draft who was signed away from a commitment to TCU, Baumler described the craziness of his past two years, from losing the 2020 season alongside all of Minor League Baseball to the pandemic shutdown and his last year recovering from Tommy John.

Some semblance of game action could come in the following weeks, as the Orioles recently announced a slate of Minor League scrimmages against the local Braves, Pirates and Rays Minor League camps, as well as intrasquad scrimmages in their own camp. All games, set for the Buck O’Neil Complex at Twin Lakes Park, are open to the public free of charge.

It remains to be seen whether the O’s elect to thrust Baumler into open competition or temper his advancements in more controlled environments, though he said he’s being treated just like every other pitcher at camp. Now almost 15 months clear of his surgery, Baumler is itching to compete but aware of the need to be cautious.

“I’d like to just have a healthy year, make it through the whole year [with] no hiccups,” he said. “ … The past two years have definitely been challenging not playing baseball … probably the hardest thing I've done in my baseball career. But with that being said, all the work I put into it, I'm super confident.”

“It's really good to see him back out there, doing everything with full intent,” said No. 17 prospect Coby Mayo, who roomed with Baumler last year while rehabbing from an early-season knee injury and is now fully healthy.

But time not pitching was not time wasted. Like many before him who have embarked on a Tommy John-induced year of uncertainty and downtime, Baumler found himself tinkering. That has ranged from building physical strength to working on mental fortitude to try to stay sharp, since he is now over two years removed from official competition.

“The thing about [Tommy John] is it gives you a lot of time to focus on some of your deficiencies before you had it,” Baumler said. “We cleaned those up in the weight room and we worked really hard on that, especially this offseason.”

All of these developments beg the question: Has his experience the past year -- and even the one prior -- made Baumler appreciate the game more?

“Yeah. Oh, that's -- yeah,” Baumler trailed off. “It has made me so happy to be back out there. When you're doing so much rehab, you're kind of like, ‘Damn, why am I doing this?’ But getting back out there, facing some hitters and some of the studs that we got, it was just awesome to be back out there.”