'Worth it:' Zastryzny's decade-long journey for an opening day spot leads to win

CINCINNATI -- Rob Zastryzny made sure to take a moment to soak in the moment.

Just a day before, he had no idea if this moment was possible. The 31-year-old lefty made the trip from Pirates spring training in Bradenton, Fla. to Cincinnati for the regular season opener, but with no guarantee for a job. The Pirates had 25 spots spoken for on the roster, and there was also the possibility that something could arise that would leave him as the odd-man out.

Zastryzny gave himself 80% odds, which is good but far from certain.

"When I semi-found out I was on the team," Zastryzny said before the regular season opener at Great American Ballpark Thursday, "they were like, ‘Hey, man, just take it day by day. Don’t get too ahead of yourself. Don't do the math, don't scroll through MLB transactions.’ "

Zastryzny took their advice, and fortunately for him, nothing came together and he was told after the team's practice Wednesday that he made the opening day team for the first time in his 10-year professional career. So when he walked out to the bullpen in the middle of the first inning of Thursday's regular season opener at Great American Ball Park, he made sure to enjoy it.

That opener was "worth it," he said while beaming postgame. Zastryzny picked up four key outs in the sixth and seventh and ended up getting the win in the Pirates' 5-4 victory over the Reds. Between all the globetrotting he's done this past month and finally getting his first real shot in the majors since his 2020 elbow surgery, getting that win is the culmination of the work and belief in himself that he could get back to this spot.

"The off-day is going to be nice tomorrow so I can let it all soak in," Zastryzny said. "[I'll] take my wife to a nice dinner because she’s been traveling all across the world. It will nice to have her relax a little bit."

In the stands was his wife, Natalie, who has traveled over the country the last few weeks. She went to Phoenix to watch Zastrynzy pitch in the World Baseball Classic for team Canada earlier this month, then drove to Texas to drop off their dogs with her parents and finally flew out to Cincinnati to be there for the opener, with the understanding that she might need to make a U-turn and go to Indianapolis instead.

And after the journey to get here after the surgery and getting a taste of the WBC, if there was ever a time to make an opening day roster, it was now.

"I told her, ‘I’ve wanted to make every team that I’ve been on, but this is the one I want to really make,’ " he said. "She was like, ‘Then go do it.’ I had a ton of gratitude for the situation."

There was no reason to reschedule that flight, which was a real concern for the two of them. So much so that while Derek Shelton had thought of a way to playfully drag out the news before telling Zastryzny, he balked at the last moment.

"When I saw the look on his face," Shelton said,' "I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I’ve got to go straight to the point here."

The Pirates could certainly use a quality lefty in the bullpen. Jarlín García was brought in to add some stability to the group, but an elbow injury landed him on the 60-day injured list to start the year. The only other southpaw available in relief is Rule 5 pick Jose Hernandez, who has not pitched above Class AA. 

The Reds had a pocket of left-handers at the top of their order, lending itself to a good left-on-left matchup. Zastryzny got the nod and retired all four men he faced while striking out one.

"It was encouraging," Shelton said of the performance. "He got the left-handers out. He came in and executed breaking balls right from the get go. But definitely encouraging. It makes you smile when a guy is 31 years old, it’s his first opening day roster, and he goes out and performs like that."

There could be some runway for Zastryzny here, especially if the Pirates don't want to leave Hernandez as the only lefty option. The Pirates also value that he can go multiple frames, like he showed Thursday, giving him added appeal as a middle reliever inning eater.

It's a lot to process, but he's been able to do that so far with just those brief moments to remind himself to breathe it in.

"I actually prefer it this way, so I don't have to process it," Zastryzny said. "Maybe the off day will be a perfect time for me to sit down and process all of it. I tried a lot this offseason to make sure that this moment could be a reality. Like I said to my wife last night, this wasn't expected because it's very hard to make the team as a non-roster invite, but that was my mindset coming in.

"It feels good to accomplish that goal, but I have plenty of others I need to do still this year."