Chad Cordero trying to make comeback with M's

Mar 9, 2010 - 10:05 AM PEORIA, Ariz(AP) -- When Chad Cordero stands among a group of 20-something Seattle Mariners relievers, he looks like just another promising pitcher.

Just three years ago, Cordero was taking the ball in the ninth inning for the Washington Nationals, one of the best closers in the major leagues. Then he felt something in his right shoulder.

"All those years in D.C., I was feeling so good then all of a sudden it all comes crumbling down," Cordero said. "It was definitely something I can learn from. Just go out there and work hard and never take this game for granted. This game is awesome and I never want to stop playing."

Cordero had a spectacular start to his career. In 2005, he saved a major-league high 47 games in his first full big-league season. At 23, he was the youngest pitcher in history with 40-plus saves.

He had 27 saves in 2006 and 37 in 2007, becoming the second youngest pitcher in history to reach the 100-save plateau, at age 25.

"When I saw him in '07, he had unbelievable stuff," said Levale Speigner, a Mariners relief hopeful who was a former Nationals teammate. "It was like he had a disappearing fastball. He had incredible control over it. He didn't have overpowering stuff but he put it right on the ... corner and guys swung and missed it."

His right shoulder hurt at the start the 2008 season. He went on the DL twice and was have a torn side muscle, torn labrum and torn biceps. He had season-ending shoulder surgery on July 8, 2008. For all he knew, it could have been career-ending surgery.

"It's one of the worst injuries you can have as a pitcher. So (2009) was definitely a struggle," he said. "It wasn't a lot of fun. There were times when I thought there was a chance I might never throw a pitch in the majors again.

"It was something I held inside my head. I wasn't going to tell anybody that. I didn't want to get them worried at all. When you have these kinds of injuries you have in the back of your head that you don't know what's going to happen."

The Nationals released him after the 2008 season and no one took a chance on a 26-year-old with 128 career saves and an uncertain shoulder. He rehabbed on his own all winter at his home in Huntington Beach, Calif.

After a workout with the Mariners at this time a year ago, he was offered and accepted a minor league contract on March 12, 2009.

"It used to be a few years ago that when guys had a surgery on their shoulder, they couldn't come back. Fortunately, the surgery has gotten a lot better," he said. "Chances of making a full recovery are a lot better. But just knowing that some guys never recovered from this, it's a tough thing to deal with."

In his effort to get back his form and prove himself again, he had some setbacks last season. He threw just 14 1-3 innings for a pair of low level teams. He is a camp invite this spring and believes he's ready to contribute again.

In his first outing last Friday, Cordero allowed an opening single then retired the next three batters.

He knows he may not stick with the big club right away, and is mentally prepared to pitch in the minors for a while. But he can still imagine his return to a major league ballgame.

"It'll definitely be exciting to be back up there again but once I get on the mound it'll be like I never left," Cordero said. "I'll be really excited, like a little kid again."

NOTES: LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith had his first spring outing against the White Sox at Glendale. He went two innings, allowing three hits and one run. "Everything felt good. I was working quick. I was happy with my tempo. I think there was only one or two 2-ball counts. I was real happy with that," he said. ... CF Franklin Gutierrez, who has had a sore right shoulder, made his first appearance this spring. He went 0-2 with a deep sacrifice fly to center in the seventh against the White Sox.