Rehab in the past, Tiedemann turns focus to next step: the Majors

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Ricky Tiedemann still looks like a pitcher built in a lab. It’s like someone taught Captain America how to throw a slider.

Standing in the parking lot of the Blue Jays’ player development complex this week, with a scar on his left elbow now, Tiedemann is two years removed from being one of the top pitching prospects in the sport -- the big lefty who could push the human body and every iPad the Blue Jays own to the limit.

Tiedemann has never needed to do anything harder, faster or stronger. That all comes naturally. He’s just needed to control his incredible gifts, and stay healthy long enough to let them shine. His rehab from Tommy John surgery has been long and challenging, but he’s come out the other side of it now. On Friday, he was back on the mound facing live hitters. No rehab, no baby steps, just baseball again.

“Dude, this is refreshing,” Tiedemann said. “When it got to that last day of being [in] rehab and my trainers told me I’d be out of there tomorrow and moving to the other side, after 17 months I wanted to just treat it like another day. Then I got home and my teammates were like, ‘Let’s cook a steak for you, bro -- that’s a big deal.’ That’s when I finally sat back: 'Damn, I really did put my head down for that long.'”

Still just 23, Tiedemann has all the time in the world. Long-term, the Blue Jays are open to Tiedemann building back up as a starter -- but the door is cracked open for him as a reliever this season. Tiedemann has the talent to quickly force the conversation that he’s one of the 13 best pitchers in the organization. If he’s healthy, the answer will be “yes” at some point in 2026.

Before his surgery in 2024, Tiedemann was dealing with bone chips in his elbow. That kept him from fully extending his elbow, so he’d have to “rip” his slider to “get around it." Now, with full motion in that elbow and new grips on his changeup and slider, Tiedemann feels like he’s in a more sustainable spot. The eye test matters here, too.

In early 2024, Tiedemann came into camp jacked. He’d pushed his body to another level entirely. Tiedemann weighed 245 pounds in camp and was closer to 255 before the surgery. The back of his shoulders were a mile wide. Now, Tiedemann is sitting closer to the 232-235 range. He looks more like a pitcher now, not a weightlifter who’s taken up pitching.

“You see a lot of guys who are wiry and lanky, or they’re big guys, but you’ll never see a guy who is shredded out there year-round,” Tiedemann said. “It’s not what a pitcher does to stay out there. Finding that out and finding the right weight where I feel easy, efficient and athletic -- and just staying healthy -- that’s the biggest thing. I did gain weight before I got hurt and I felt really strong, but I wasn’t as quick or as efficient or as smooth as I should have. Now, I [am].”

Tiedemann isn’t just saying he feels refreshed, you can feel that vibrating off of him. Tiedemann was the No. 29 prospect in the sport going into 2024, so there was so much momentum lost when he went down. Now, he calls that a “weight off his shoulders.” There’s excitement in his voice again, a sense of confidence that comes with understanding his own talent and knowing that he doesn’t need to be the top pitching prospect on the planet every pitch, especially in February.

“I feel amazing. Everything feels great,” Tiedemann said. “It’s just about seeing live batters and getting that feel back, but health-wise? Everything’s been money.”

Tiedemann has a shot now, and he’s not picky. He’s rehabbed long enough. He just wants to pitch, and while the Blue Jays will take him along cautiously, he’ll have every opportunity to contribute in ‘26.

“Whatever the team needs, you ought to be ready for it and you ought to be excited for it. Not many guys get the opportunity. If you’re putting up the numbers, whether you’re starting or relieving, just to get that call would be a blessing for me. I’ll be ready. No matter when they call, I’ll be ready for it and I’ll be excited.”

There’s still a long way to go, but Tiedemann is moving again -- and if he’s healthy, he’s a big leaguer.