Whirlwind Journey Leading Mike Vasil To ‘Special Moment’ At Fenway Park

Chicago White Sox reliever Mike Vasil had plenty of open road in front of him and plenty of time to contemplate and dissect the whirlwind journey he had been on.

A lot transpired for Vasil over the course of four months. The 25-year-old right-hander went from a pitching prospect with the New York Mets to being selected 14th overall in December’s Rule 5 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. The same day the Phillies picked him up they traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations.

And just before the start of the MLB season in late March, the Rays waived Vasil, prompting him to drive nearly three hours across the state of Florida to Port St. Lucie to stay at a friend’s house in search of what was next for his career.

But Vasil, who wouldn’t let himself be consumed by thoughts of his past, didn’t exactly have an answer for that.

“I really didn’t know where I was going to be for a little bit, and that’s what’s been crazy about it all,” Vasil told NESN.com

The drive didn’t bring an end to the road for Vasil, though. Soon after getting released by the Rays, the White Sox came calling and Chicago gave him his first chance to pitch in the major leagues.

That’s not the only opportunity afforded to Vasil by pitching for the White Sox. A coveted one will come this weekend when he steps foot inside Fenway Park, considered a hallowed ground to Vasil.

Vasil grew up just over 20 minutes away from the venerable ballpark in Wellesley, Mass., and developed into a premier pitching prospect at BC High before going on to star at Virginia. Vasil took a number of trips to Fenway in his life, primarily as a fan and once for a workout when he pitched for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

But he never has experienced stepping foot on the mound at Fenway. That will change this weekend with Vasil likely to make at least one appearance out of the bullpen when the White Sox visit the Red Sox for a four-game set starting Friday.

The 6-foot-5, 244-pound righty wants to maintain his laser focus whenever he gets called upon by White Sox manager Will Veneable. But he will give himself the chance to soak in something that he dreamed of as kid.

“I think, honestly, the first time I’m going to sit in that bullpen for that game on Friday night, it’s probably going hit me then the most,” Vasil said. “I grew up as a kid watching these guys walk out here to the bullpen. I’ve seen incredible games at Fenway Park — meaningful games. For me now to walk out here and be a part of a game that’s going on, I know there’s a little kid in those stands who might be watching us walk out and that was me. That to me is a very, very special moment.”

Vasil expects around 50 family members and friends to be in attendance throughout the series, and that number most likely will grow well beyond that.

While Vasil will be grateful for the support in what is now enemy territory for him, he knows the passion Boston fans can exude at Fenway. And he wouldn’t be surprised to hear some chirps come in his direction from some friendly faces in the crowd.

“I’m doing my part giving out some tickets to people and everything, but I also got a lot of other friends who have reached out and been like, ‘Hey, I’m trying to get tickets in right field, sit near that bullpen,'” Vasil said. “So, that could go one of two ways. I know a lot of it there will be kidding if they decide to play a little part of being a Fenway fan in right field. But at the same time, I’m kind of thinking, ‘Is it best if some of these guys who know me very well sit out there?’ It will be awesome having all those people there.”

Vasil already got a taste of facing the Red Sox when he appeared in last Saturday’s 3-2 win for Chicago at Rate Field. Vasil pitched two scoreless innings of relief in which he allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out three — he got Trevor Story, Carlos Narváez and Rob Refsnyder to fan.

That performance has been part of an unblemished start to Vasil’s MLB career. He has yet to allow a run over his first 12 innings pitched in the big leagues, becoming a trusted option in Chicago’s bullpen and capable of throwing multiple innings at a time.

It was tough to see this coming for Vasil given his struggles at the Triple-A level last season in the Mets farm system. After ascending into one of the top minor-league arms for the Mets after they selected him in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, he stumbled in 45 career appearances at Triple-A, posting a 12-14 record with a 5.78 ERA and a 1.522 WHIP.

But Vasil picked himself up to bounce back in a big way on an even bigger stage.

“In the moment last year, I wasn’t happy with what was going on, but I learned a lot about myself and what I need to do, how I need to prep, mentally where I should be at. And it’s helped me now,” Vasil said. “I know the major leagues can be a lot of pressure, and it can be a lot because every game really means something, every outing means something.

“But I think for me right now, instead of putting more pressure on myself to just be like, You know what, a year ago right now, if you were to ask would you want to be pitching in the majors leagues right now and doing well, I would say 100%.’ So, I’m not going to add more pressure. I’m going to go out there with a nothing-to-lose mentality of I’m going to go right at guys, I’m going to trust my stuff.”

Vasil certainly couldn’t have predicted things would turn out this way when he stepped foot in his car to trek across Florida only a month ago. But after a turbulent offseason and continuously switching teams, he ended up right where he wanted to be, and that’s on a big-league mound.

“The whole thing has been pretty crazy,” Vasil said. “But I couldn’t be happier with where I’m at right now.”