CINCINNATI — When Rob Zastryzny and the Pirates' other relievers walked from the dugout to the bullpen at Great American Ball Park late Thursday afternoon, the 31-year-old turned and took a look around.
Peering into a sea of red-clad fans and taking note of the bunting draped from railings as a way to commemorate the return of baseball, Zastryzny was careful not to waste a golden opportunity to admire the scene and soak it in.
After 10 years of professional baseball, which included a stint with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League, Zastryzny had finally made an opening day roster for the first time, a moment he had been dreaming of since becoming obsessed with baseball as an Edmonton, Alberta-born kid growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas.
If that wasn't enough, a stressful couple of days — with Zastryzny squarely on the roster bubble, the Pirates monitoring the rest of Major League Baseball for potential upgrades — turned into not only him earning a relief role, but picking up the victory against the Reds by retiring all four hitters he faced, an outcome so perfect that it almost felt scripted.
"That," Zastryzny beamed at his locker following a 5-4 Pirates win, "felt good."
As it should when you consider the totality of Zastryzny's story and how he arrived at this point. It's been a remarkable journey, one filled with patience and perseverance and also plenty of travel.
More than anything, Zastryzny said he couldn't wait to celebrate everything that has happened with his wife, Natalie. He was looking forward to taking her out to a nice dinner with the Pirates off on Friday and mostly thanking her for being so supportive.
Rob and Natalie Zastryzny live in Phoenix. When Rob learned he would travel to Cincinnati with the Pirates, he still didn't have confirmation that he would be on the opening day roster. We'll see, they told him. Natalie didn't care. She drove their dogs to her parents' house in Texas and boarded a one-way flight to Cincinnati.
Their next stop would either be Pittsburgh if Rob made the team, or Indianapolis if he did not.
Zastryzny said he thought there was about an 80% chance he'd make it when the Pirates held a workout on Wednesday. When he learned he was indeed on the roster — Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he considered joking with Zastryzny but stopped when he realized he was a nervous wreck — he immediately called Natalie, who was back at the hotel.
"She was bawling, crying, and I was like, 'I train year round. I expect stuff like this to happen,' " Zastryzny said. "But then I started tearing up a little bit, too, because I knew I had to call my parents and tell them.
"I think she was just crying more because she didn't have to fly again for a couple days."
'Special first step'
Developing a sense of humor about stuff has happened over the years for Rob and Natalie Zastryzny. They've been through plenty, and it shows.
"I don't celebrate birthdays after 30," Zastryzny deadpanned. "So I'll be 30 until I retire."
As for the journey, it's certainly been something.
Rob Zastryzny actually made his MLB debut for the Cubs in 2016 and pitched well: a 1.16 ERA in eight games (16 innings), walking five and striking out 17. He started out on the postseason roster that year but was taken off for the World Series when Kyle Schwarber returned from injury.
The same Kyle Schwarber who hit .412 with a .971 OPS and went 3 for 5 in the Cubs' Game 7 victory.
Zastryzny became the consummate up-and-down type for the next handful of years, bouncing between starting and relieving, the major leagues and Triple-A before the Cubs released him in March 2019 and the Dodgers signed him to a minor league deal a day later.
After an unremarkable 2019 — a 5.58 ERA in 113 innings — Zastryzny signed another minor league deal with the Orioles for 2020 and spent much of the season at their alternate training site. More important, he had surgery to repair what he described as a longtime fracture in his elbow, one he had since he was 13.
The return from surgery helped Zastryzny increase his four-seam fastball velocity from 88.8 mph in 2018 — he didn't pitch in the major leagues in 2019, so no data is available — to 92.3 mph in 2022 and 93.1 mph on Thursday. Last year he added a cutter and a slider with some curveball characteristics and has also improved his change-up.
What Zastryzny lacked has been an opportunity to put it all together and show that he still knows how to pitch.
"We kind of figured that fastball plays up in the zone, the slider and cutter play to lefties, and the change-up plays to righties," Zastryzny said. "We just wanted to figure out the exact equation and have these achievable goals that I can get to."
Elbow surgery also forced a gut-check moment for Zastryzny.
"That was when I sat down and thought, 'Is this achievable for me? Will I ever be able to establish myself?' " he said. "I realized that if I have that mindset, I'll never be the guy I want to be. From that day on, I treated every day like I was a big leaguer, acting and training accordingly.
"I still have a lot to prove and there's a lot to do. But this is a special first step."
'Go do it'
Zastryzny isn't cocky, but he is confident — the way someone might act when they've told themselves they're going to carry themselves like a big leaguer come hell or high water.
So when Zastryzny had his initial meeting this spring with general manager Ben Cherington and Shelton, he essentially told them that he planned to make their lives difficult. After all, his had been, pitching for six MLB organizations and in independent ball to get here. Why not return the favor?
"I don't think it was expected for me to make this roster by anyone other than myself," Zastryzny said. "I remember walking in the room with Shelton and Ben saying, 'Hey, I want to make this team and I'm gonna do everything I can to make this decision difficult.
"And they said, 'If you show us you can, you'll have that opportunity.' "
It's an opportunity that has resonated with Zastryzny's teammates, as well.
"I think it's a common theme in bullpens where you gotta force their hand," said David Bednar, who did exactly that in 2021. "There's not always that perfect path. I've always thought if you don't like something, play better. It's as simple as that. [Zastryzny's] mental toughness has definitely helped him."
That was evident when Zastryzny didn't allow an earned run during spring training and also while pitching for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. His confidence was on display against the Reds, especially on a breaking ball Zastryzny threw to TJ Friedl for a strikeout in the sixth, and how confidently he attacked hitters, needing 15 pitches (10 strikes) to get four quick outs.
"Definitely encouraging," Shelton said. "It makes you smile when a guy is 31 years old, it's his first opening day roster, and he goes out and performs like that."
"Maintaining equilibrium" was the hardest thing to do, Zastryzny said with a smile. Not literally, of course, but just staying even-keeled considering the circumstances at play.
That nobody expected him to do this or could spell his vowel-challenged last name added some neat perspective and infused Zastryzny with an incalculable amount of gratitude. To prove his point, Zastryzny recalled a conversation midway through spring training with Natalie about genuinely wanting to be a part of the opening day roster.
"The group of guys they have here, they all mesh well," he said. "They're really nice. I get along with all of them. I remember telling her, 'I've wanted to make every team that I've been on, but I really want to make this one.' And she was like, 'OK, then go do it.' "
