Healthy at last, Senzatela relishes normalcy of '25 prep

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela sustained a torn ACL in his left knee on Aug. 18, 2022. It wasn’t until this winter that he could shift out of catch-up mode.

The knee issue that kept him out until May 2023 may have led to him blowing out his right elbow in his second start, and the resulting Tommy John surgery. Last year’s long rehab slog led to three happy-to-be-back starts at the end of the season.

“This was my first normal offseason since ‘21,” Senzatela said.

Now, Senzatela, 30, is trying to return to normal effectiveness.

Senzatela, lefty Kyle Freeland and righty Germán Márquez broke in and helped the Rockies to the postseason in 2017 and 2018. Like Freeland and Márquez, Senzatela signed a multiyear extension – with his five-year, $50.5 million deal running through 2026 with a 2027 team option. All have endured struggles and injuries.

But now they’re healthy. Senzatela especially is eager to see what he can do now that he isn’t rehabbing his throwing elbow or his landing knee.

“Preparation was a little bit different,” Senzatela said. “When you have a T.J. or you have knee surgery, you always have to take care of some stuff from that. This winter, I just went to the gym and worked out. That feels amazing.”

Amazing, but Senzatela is thankful he didn’t feel too amazing.

“I try to keep that out of my mind, but maybe I was not using my legs like I should have that year [in 2023],” Senzatela said. “I remember my first outings after the knee, I was throwing 96, 97, 98 [mph] in the Minors while on a rehab assignment.

“I was like, ‘The ‘velo’ has jumped up, but I don’t feel right.”

The outings at the end of last season produced a 6.57 ERA, but more importantly, they were a springboard to an offseason with a free mind. Senzatela moved his offseason home from Orlando, Fla., to Scottsdale so he could work at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

“I never stopped throwing,” Senzatela said. “Our trainers recommended for me to keep going because if I stopped for a period of time, it was going to take a while for me to get strong again. I would not throw for a week, then a week throwing for the first couple of weeks, and after that just every day.

“Being here helped me a lot. I could see Kyle Freeland, Ryan McMahon, the trainers and everybody. They really helped me and supported me, and taught me the workouts I needed to be healthy.”

Throughout the winter, general manager Bill Schmidt repeatedly said Senzatela was leaner, now that he could prepare without fear of reinjury.

Senzatela’s first Cactus League effort of 2025 on Sunday reflected his solid preparation.

The first pitch was a 96.8 mph fastball that Brewer Hicklen lined to second baseman Thairo Estrada. It started two spotless frames with two strikeouts.

At the time of the injury, Senzatela had grown beyond his early-career mix, which was heavily fastball and slider. The curveball and the changeup that he’d hoped would take him from talented arm to thinking man’s pitcher were coming into focus.

Senzatela has always been big on forcing ground balls, but he has looked to increase his strikeouts. Two K’s in six outs on Sunday was a nice start.

“Every pitcher loves a swing-and-miss, but Senza’s strength is being on the attack and locating pitches,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “Hopefully, he’ll get the mis-hit, get the ball off the barrel, keep the ball down and get his grounders. It’s really pitching.”

Rockies camp is a display of the budding young rotation talent. 2022 first-round pick Gabriel Hughes (Rockies' No. 22 prospect) threw two scoreless innings against the D-backs on Saturday, and 2023 first-rounder Chase Dollander (No. 25 overall prospect) is set for his Cactus League debut against the Giants on Monday at Scottsdale Stadium. Both are power pitchers capable of big strikeout numbers.

However, Senzatela’s best traits – his quick pace between pitches and the ability to force grounders – are tricks any pitcher can use. And simply paying attention to Senzatela could be helpful.

“What can be learned from his style by the young pitchers in camp is just the way he goes about it – he’s a great worker between starts, like so many of our pitchers are,” Black said. “And there's his ability to be aggressive in the strike zone – locate the fastball. The younger pitchers always say they are trying to do it, but when you get to the big league level, you’ve got to really locate the fastball.”