Lefty Austin Davis happy to compete as part of Pirates bullpen

Sure, there were some tiring rehabilitation workouts and uneasiness associated with his first arm injury as a professional. But the most difficult part of the 60-day stint on the injured list for Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Austin Davis was the lack of two extra roommates to live with he and his wife.

“Settlers of Catan is a board game (that’s) supposed to be for four people,” Davis said Friday, “but I told my wife, ‘We are playing it two-people.’ I don’t even think it is meant for two players, but we played it.”

Why?

“Honestly for me, (the hardest thing about being injured) was, like, not competing,” Davis said. “Like, I like to compete. A lot. I played a lot of board games, Settlers of Catan, I picked up chess. I did anything I could to compete. My poor wife, I said, ‘Hey let’s go play another game of chess.’ And she’s like, ‘I don’t want to. I want to just relax.’ And I am like, ‘I have to win at something.’ ”

Davis ultimately beat back the Tommy John boogeyman, surviving a sprain to his left (throwing) ulnar collateral ligament. For an individual who makes his livelihood throwing baseballs, an injured UCL is a scary thought: The accompanying reconstruction of a torn UCL (known as “Tommy John surgery”) typically means 14-18 months before a return to normal.

Luckily for Davis, his UCL ailment discovered in February was just a sprain. That meant “only” a stint on the 60-day injured list while undergoing platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatment. Davis was cleared to pitch for Triple-A Indianapolis by mid May, and he was recalled to the MLB roster for 48 hours (making one appearance) earlier this month.

He was back on the 26-man roster Sunday.

“I am going to be one of the lefty options out of the ’pen, so if we have a big chunk of lefties coming up then I know I’ve got a chance to pitch,” Davis said.

Pirates A-Z: Austin Davis joined the #Pirates in 2020 and finally figured out how to develop his breaking pitches and provided left-handed relief for their beleaguered bullpen.https://t.co/ueMIJUtclc

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) November 6, 2020

The 28-year-old joined the Pirates in a trade last August after being designated for assignment by the Philadelphia Phillies. Over five 2020 appearances for the Pirates he recorded 11 outs and allowed one walk and one hit. He’s allowed one walk and no hits over his two innings or work in 2021 heading into Friday.

A quality lefty can always find himself a niche in a major league bullpen. Davis has an opportunity to do that now with the Pirates.

“I am going to be there to fill whatever gaps we need to fill,” he said, “and then hopefully work myself into a position where I can sneak into some of those high-leverage spots.”

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