Hunter Stratton had beaten the odds before, so the Pittsburgh Pirates reliever was convinced he could beat a timeline to return from injury.
A 16th-round draft pick who spent seven seasons in the minor leagues, Stratton persevered to make his major league debut in September 2023. After being non-tendered that offseason, he signed a minor league contract and worked his way onto the Opening Day roster last year.
After rupturing the patella tendon in his left knee on Aug. 24, Stratton was non-tendered again and signed another minor league deal with the Pirates. This time, he was determined to return before the projected seven to 10 months, which required both faith and trust.
“It’s easy with faith. I’ve always leaned on my faith. This is my path,” Stratton told TribLive at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. “Coming up was hard and I know coming off an injury is hard because all eyes are on you and they’ve got to see how you bounce back. I’m just going to try to give them my best and not leave any doubts.”
Stratton’s faith was rewarded Saturday when he recorded a pair of strikeouts in pitching a perfect eighth against the Baltimore Orioles in the Pirates’ spring training home finale. Then the non-roster invitee had his contract selected to the 40-man roster.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound right-hander threw nine of his 10 pitches for strikes, fanning the first two batters he faced on six pitches. He got Vance Honeycutt swinging at 96.1-mph four-seam fastball at the top of the strike zone and Maverick Handley looking at a called third strike on an 83.6-mph slider inside. Stratton needed four pitches to retire Heston Kjerstad, using another inside slider to get a lineout to first.
“I feel like my body didn’t skip a beat,” Stratton told reporters in Bradenton afterward, “and I feel like I am in mid-season form.”
That’s where the trust came in.
Stratton, who is 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 43 strikeouts against 10 walks in 44 appearances over two seasons with the Pirates, was in the midst of the best stretch of his major league career when he was injured. He hadn’t allowed a run in six innings over seven appearances between July 30 and Aug. 24.
Then Stratton tore up his knee in what he calls a “freak accident,”
Stratton relieved starter Jake Woodford in the fourth inning with one out and runners on second and third. He threw a wild pitch past catcher Joey Bart that allowed Jonathan India to score from third. Bart recovered the ball and flipped it to Stratton covering home plate but the ball bounced off his glove. When Stratton ran toward the backstop to retrieve it, he slipped and his knee caught. His momentum carried Stratton toward the stone wall, and he had to be carted off the field.
“That’s the boat I’m in,” Stratton said. “I don’t have the luxury of having a few bad games. I’ve got to perform. The best way I can perform is giving what I’ve got. That’s exactly what happened: I went too hard and the knee didn’t like it.”
Despite the devastating end to his season, Stratton attacked his rehabilitation the only way he knows how. He returned home to Bristol, Tenn., and went back to work. The biggest challenge came around the four-month mark of his recovery, when he started to put weight on his knee.
“That was the hardest part, just trusting it again,” Stratton said. “It’s a scary feeling, not being able to walk. You never want to go back to that. Letting it take all the beating of the day and trusting it.”
By mid-December, Stratton was throwing off a mound again. When he arrived at big league camp, his arm was ready for action. Stratton had to complete the running progression of his rehab, which started in mid-February. His time spent throwing on backfields paid off, as Stratton returned in time to pitch in a Grapefruit League game.
Being added to the 40-man roster doesn’t guarantee Stratton a spot on the Opening Day roster, but he’s defied the odds enough times to believe he will be back in the majors again.
“This is a whole new experience for me, going through the rehab process and having a plan for the offseason and that getting interrupted due to the injury,” Stratton said. “It’s not starting over from zero. I do have that confidence from being a major league player. I think that I’m going to lean on that when I’m facing those hitters.”