SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Foster warmed up in the Minute Maid Park bullpen Friday night, anticipating entering in the eighth inning for the Chicago White Sox.
The recovery and rehab from Tommy John surgery was complete. All that was left was getting back on a big-league mound.
“As soon as the (seventh) inning finished, I was like, ‘All right, it’s time to go. Get back on again,’” the right-handed reliever said Saturday in Houston.
Foster missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on April 19. He spent a bulk of this season working toward a return, which took place Friday against the Houston Astros.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I was super excited. I had some nerves there too. But it’s been a long time coming and I’ve been waiting on this for, like, literally two years.”
Foster pitched a 1-2-3 inning, helping the Sox in a 5-4 victory.
“Not an easy position to come into, late in a game and first game back in a while, but he threw well, got ahead of guys and gave us a big inning when we needed it,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said.
“The biggest thing when you do get back out there is getting comfortable. It was a long time down, the speed of the game, the feel, so for him it was not an easy position. But to get in there, come in and throw strikes and get a clean inning was probably huge for his confidence and us.”
Foster entered with the Sox ahead 5-3. He got Jeremy Peña to fly out to right fielder Dominic Fletcher, struck out Victor Caratini and completed the outing when Jake Meyers lined out to Fletcher. Nine of Foster’s 11 pitches were strikes.
“There’s been times I’ve pitched (in Houston) and it hasn’t gone well,” he said. “(Friday) night it was a good confidence booster, especially coming back after all these things. (Friday) night was a lot of fun.”
Foster came in with a 4.39 career ERA and 113 strikeouts in 108 big-league games (two starts). He had an important role in the Sox bullpen during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, going 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA as the franchise reached the postseason for the first time since 2008.
He had a 6.00 ERA in 37 outings in 2021 and made a career-high 48 appearances in 2022, finishing with a 4.40 ERA.
His last time in a major-league game before Friday was Sept. 1, 2022, against the Kansas City Royals.
“For sure a new appreciation,” Foster said. “You play so long and to have to sit out that long, it sucks. Finally getting back going when the bullpens started (during rehab), it was like, ‘This is awesome.’ But then you are throwing so many bullpens, it gets monotonous at times.
“The games start happening and that’s when adrenaline starts coming back.”
Foster said support from teammates such as starting pitcher Davis Martin — who returned to the major leagues in late July after 2023 Tommy John surgery — went a long way.
“Davis and I were there in Phoenix all last year,” Foster said. “That’s one of the things that keeps it uplifting, that you are not there alone going through it.
“It can be a lonely thing. You are there by yourself, going through this injury process. But you have other guys around you going through the same thing, lifting each other up.”
Foster, 29, admitted there were some long days in the process.
“There’s good days, bad days,” he said. “You just kind of take it one day at a time. Just keep moving.
“Honestly, like the whole TJ process, I never really had any major issues — elbow, shoulder or nothing. A couple of weeks back, I had a little back tweak and that kind of set me back. We are over that hump now and just keep riding the train.”
After the short hiccup with his back, Foster built back up with Triple-A Charlotte.
“Everything felt really good,” he said. “It was the front-office decision at that point (of when to reinstate him). Keep doing the rehab games, stay healthy and stay ready to go.”
Go time came Friday. Foster said everything felt “really good” coming out of his hand.
“I threw a curveball (Friday) night, haven’t done that in a while, played with it a little bit in ’22,” he said. “All this rehab time, I’ve had a lot of time to play with stuff. That was a pitch I threw (Friday) night I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with the last few weeks.”
He’s hoping the rest of this season serves as a springboard for 2025.
“Just stay healthy, keep going and throw as much as I can,” Foster said of his goals for the remainder of 2024. “Just get ready for next year.”
