Red Sox starting pitcher Justin Masterson went through a relatively light workout Wednesday at the team's spring complex in Florida, throwing 25 fastballs and doing some running.
However, the day was significant for Masterson because he appears to be in a much better situation healthwise as compared to this time last year, per WEEI.com.
“Nothing hurts,” he said when asked about the difference in throwing his second bullpen, compared to his initial time off the mound with the Indians last season. “I feel like I’m getting through a ball. When I came to spring last year I didn’t feel like I could get through a ball. I just figured I needed to loosen up, but it never did. Coming in right now compared to last year? It’s huge.”
After winning a career-best 14 games in 2013, Masterson struggled in 2014 with the Indians and Cardinals. It appears an offseason injury contributed heavily to Masterson's struggles last season.
“In the offseason, after I tore the oblique, I didn’t get it worked through. I didn’t get that scar tissue taken away,” Masterson said. “I didn’t strengthen the way I should have. A lot of things I didn’t do right just because it felt fine. And then it was like I was catching up the whole time, and because of the lack of rotation other stuff started working harder and then you go down that chain. The knee starts hurting a little bit. The hips aren’t working as well as they should. The arm’s not coming through. You’re like, what’s going on here? All of those things were a trickle down effect."