Joakim Soria is thankful his stay on the 15-day disabled list is over. So are the Royals.
Joakim’s trip to the DL led to a wave of Royals following him. There were pitchers Sidney Ponson, Robinson Tejeda and Doug Waechter; position players John Buck, Mike Aviles and Alex Gordon; and Coco Crisp has now made that unwelcomed trek to the DL.
The absence of Joakim and these other key players sent the Royals from the top of the American League Central standings to near the bottom. But having Joakim, sidelined with a sore arm, back should reverse that slide.
Not that the Royals wanted to rush their star reliever back. Not at all. They wanted to make certain that when Joakim was ready to return, he could return – and not one day sooner.
To ensure his readiness, Joakim did a lot of exercising. His rehab routine included running, cardio work, and strength and conditioning training. He also went through rehab sessions with the team’s athletic trainers. Joakim did ultrasound, hot/cold treatments and shoulder exercises to get his arm ready.
Once he felt his arm was ready to start throwing again, he went to Arizona to throw a couple of innings. He faced hitters in Rookie ball who were very aggressive in going after pitchers.
They met their match in Joakim Soria, one of the premier closers in the big leagues.
“Young guys want to hit a Major League Baseball pitcher,” he said. “They know that I can command the ball better than the Rookie ball pitchers.”
Those young hitters always go to the plate ready to swing their bats. On his first outing, Joakim got knocked around a little bit, which isn’t unusual for a pitcher who’s just trying to recapture his mechanics.
Or for one who’s trying to prove his arm is OK.
And Joakim proved his arm was just fine, which led to the Royals activating him from the disabled list. His right arm feels a lot better, although it’s still not 100 percent yet.
To ensure it continues to improve, he’s changed his daily routine a little bit. He puts a hot pack on his arm and some Icy Hot to help him get ready.
His first game back came against the Tampa Bay Rays. His arm felt great during the game; it felt even better afterward. That feeling pleased Joakim. When asked if he was eager to get his first save, he said, “A save is nothing special to me; my job is to get outs.”
