The Yankees took 28 players north when spring training ended last week.
By Tuesday, when Néstor Cortés Jr. began to clock a full at-bat in the rotation, 27 of them had appeared in at least one game. JP Sears was the last one left, and adding to the lefty’s long wait was the fact that his season debut would double as his MLB debut.
Sears’ parents and girlfriend had also been in the Bronx since opening day, wanting to stay as long as it took to make sure they would be there for their first pitching game in the majors.
Finally, in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to the Blue Jays, Sears got the call and made the most of it, retiring Santiago Espinal, George Springer and Bo Bichette in order on eight pitches.
“Not too much nerves, more like a lot of excitement, floating feeling … just super ready to go out there and chase it,” Sears said Thursday at the Yankees’ clubhouse.
Sears, 26, hadn’t pitched in a game since April 4, a Grapefruit League exhibition, after which manager Aaron Boone told him he was going to make the team.
From there, the waiting game began.
“Just a little anxious,” Sears said. “Obviously I’m ready to play every night whenever the game starts, but just be patient and wait for my chance and take it however I can.”
Sears’ debut included a strikeout of Springer, with the ball from that at-bat directed to his father’s office, at least until he gets his own house.
“That will be one that I will remember for a long time,” he said.
The Yankees added Sears to their 40-man roster in November, increasing his chances of appearing in the majors this season. The former Mariners 11th-round pick in 2017, who came to the Yankees later that year in exchange for Nick Rumbelow, opened his eyes last season when he posted a 3.46 ERA between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A. Scranton/Wilkes-Bar.
Sears has been primarily a starter throughout his career and was building as such in spring training. But with the Yankees carrying 16 pitchers on their 28-man roster during the first month of the season to protect their arms after a brief spring training, Sears made the team as a long reliever, despite his debut in an entry.
“In a perfect world, at some point in here we’re going to put it in and let it run,” Boone said. “We’ve been in these high-leverage games each and every night where we haven’t had a lot of opportunity for our length guys to just work.
“I think everyone saw a little bit of why we’re excited about it.”
The Yankees will have to cut their roster to 13 pitchers by May 1, which means Sears’ first stint in the Bronx may be limited, barring injuries elsewhere in the bullpen. But at least he got his first MLB game under his belt, a successful one, with his parents and girlfriend in attendance before leaving for his home in South Carolina on Thursday.
“It was the last night my girlfriend was able to be here before she had to go to work today, so that was great,” Sears said. “And then, obviously, it’s better to have a Yankee Stadium debut.”
Sears and his parents’ home is Sumter, South Carolina, which is also the hometown of fellow Yankees left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who was happy to see Sears get his shot Wednesday night.
“It was amazing, I was ready for him to come out,” said Montgomery, who is three years older than Sears. “I have known JP for a while. We work with the same throwing coach at home. He went to private school, I went to public school. It’s a small baseball town, so you know everybody who’s good.”
Reference-nypost.com