Time heals all wounds — or any marks left by an errant pitch.
After Houston Astros reliever Kendall Graveman hit José Abreu in the shoulder with a pitch in the eighth inning of last year’s 10-1 American League Division Series loss that ended the Chicago White Sox season, Sox manager Tony La Russa said Graveman should have been ejected.
But when the Sox were looking to add to their bullpen this offseason, they turned to Graveman, signing him to a three-year, $24 million deal.
Graveman caught up with Abreu when he arrived for Sox camp at Camelback Ranch.
“I apologized to Abreu when I got here,” Graveman said last week. “I didn’t mean to hit him. And I apologized to Tony. I said, ‘I didn’t mean to, Tony,’ and he said, ‘I realize that now. In the moment, I didn’t.’
“So that was a pretty good little icebreaker. (Abreu) laughed and said, ‘I know you didn’t mean to.’ It was a good introduction.”
Abreu smiled when he was asked about it last week and said, “It’s OK.” La Russa joked: “We’re going to room both of them together.”
Graveman, 31, is fitting in as another important member of the bullpen.
“I’m definitely excited personally,” he said. “Not only the talent they signed, but just being around the guys a few days, the character, makeup, you can already get a feel there’s no egos.
“We just want to go out and pitch and get outs and ultimately win baseball games. That goes a long way as a team, especially when you have guys as established and as good as the names who are here. That’s huge for us. Can’t wait to go to work with those guys.”
La Russa and pitching coach Ethan Katz brought up Graveman’s credentials on and off the field.
“It could be the best recommendation I got for a teammate, or tied for first,” La Russa said. “Everybody swears by him and as a person, as a competitor. The way he is, he’s ready to do whatever the team says.
“Again, (general manager) Rick (Hahn) and (executive vice president) Kenny (Williams) are very conscious about the character guys, and we’re definitely adding some real strength.”
Katz added Friday: “I heard nothing but rave reviews about him in the clubhouse, so obviously the clubhouse presence is going to be phenomenal. And then basically it’s just another closer thrown in the fire whenever is needed. He’s got great stuff. He adds another uniqueness with his pitch mix that we didn’t have really from the right side.
“So I’m excited because he’ll be able to go out there and get us a ground ball and get out of a big jam with his sinker. He threw (Wednesday) and it was really impressive. He’s able to read hitters and knows what he wants to do really well.”
Graveman went 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA, 10 saves and 61 strikeouts in 53 games for the Seattle Mariners and Astros last season. After five relief appearances in 2014 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Graveman spent 2015-18 with the Oakland Athletics as a starter. He worked mostly as a reliever in 2020 with the Mariners.
“This is my second year coming into spring training as a reliever,” Graveman said. “I had many spring trainings before that as a starter, so it’s a little different with not building up as much volume. But more times off the mound than I would if I was a starter.
“That’s the last little step is how quickly I can recover. That’s the name of the game I found out last year in the bullpen: How much can I make myself available for my team in order to be able to compete?”
His goal is to pitch in the postseason again.
“This team is very talented, just like the team I played on in Houston,” he said. “There’s a feeling and a sense of urgency starting in spring training to get to October, and with Tony and the rest of the coaching staff as they lead us, we have great leadership in the clubhouse.
“I want to get back. The guys who got there and didn’t win and the guys who have won want to win again. I think all of that combines to have a successful season.”