LOS ANGELES — At DodgerFest on Saturday, righty reliever Kyle Hurt sounded like a guy who’s done staring at rehab calendars and wants to get back to doing the one thing that counts: pitching in games that matter.
It’s been a long road. Hurt had Los Angeles Dodgers fans buzzing when he debuted in September 2023, then his timeline got hijacked by elbow trouble that led to Tommy John surgery in late July 2024. From there, 2025 became about recovery, build-up, and trying to make the comeback clock line up with the big-league season.
Now the tone has changed. Hurt isn’t talking like someone hoping to feel normal again. He’s talking like someone who already does.
“I feel great,” Hurt said. “I’m just super excited… to have the regular season and just get back out there with everybody.”
That’s the headline, but what made the interview interesting was how plainly he described the push-and-pull of returning late last year. The Dodgers, he said, weren’t rushing him. If anything, they were the ones holding the line while he tried to kick it down.
“They were being very patient with the whole rehab process… taking the time to really get back into some rehab games,” Hurt said. “I wasn’t really pressured to do anything. It was more of me kind of pressuring them… like, ‘Hey, I’m ready. I’m ready.’ But… it’s their decision. They do what’s best for the team.”
That tracks with how the organization handled his recovery overall: surgery in July 2024, then a rehab ramp with the idea that a 2025 return was possible if everything lined up, but never guaranteed.
Hurt said one of the underrated benefits of getting close late last season was simply being around the environment again. Even without being in the middle of the playoff fight, he got a taste of the energy and routine that comes with October baseball.
“I’m just happy that I was able to be out here before the World Series… and get them ready,” he said. “Just being a part of that was super exciting, and I’m just super excited for this season.”
When the interviewer asked if there was something that “locked in” during the recovery, Hurt didn’t overcomplicate it. The goal was to get back to who he was before.
“Just getting back to where I was before the surgery,” he said. “Everything feels good. Surgery is tough, but I feel pretty solid coming off.”
The most revealing part came when he explained how weird the “normal” part is after Tommy John. It’s not like flipping a switch. It’s like learning a skill again, except the skill is something you’ve done your whole life.
“You relearn how to throw,” Hurt said.
And then he gave the kind of answer pitchers give when they’re trying to convince themselves as much as anyone else: the data matches. The stuff is there. Now it’s about repetition.
“Based on all the numbers on Trackman and all that, and video, everything was pretty similar to what it was before the surgery,” he said. “But you just need reps… you’ve just got to get those reps in.”
That’s why his confidence didn’t sound performative. When he was asked directly if he had any doubts about the comeback, he didn’t even pause.
“No, no doubts at all,” Hurt said. “I got a brand new elbow, and I’m super excited for a healthy regular season this year.”
It’s easy for guys at a fan event to say they’re “excited,” but Hurt’s version had a little edge to it. He wasn’t just happy to be back. He sounded impatient to contribute, especially with the Dodgers chasing another title.
“It’s a really, really, really good team,” he said. “They’re going for a repeat, and I want to be a part of it any way I can.”
There was also a small, telling moment when the conversation turned to role and build-up. Hurt didn’t pretend he had some inside scoop on what the Dodgers are planning for him. He said he hasn’t been told much, which makes sense for a pitcher coming off a lost season and building toward spring.
“I would assume that’s the plan,” he said, “but I haven’t been told much. So I’m ready for… ‘What do you want me to do?’”
That line sounded like a reliever volunteering for whatever the bullpen needs: leverage, mop-up, multi-inning, back-to-back, you name it. On this team, especially, roster spots get earned with usefulness.
Then came the best “rehab answer” of the interview, because it wasn’t about mechanics or velocity. It was about mindset.
“I learned… a lot of things are out of my control,” Hurt said. “And I can just really focus on my routine and day-to-day stuff. That was pretty big for me.”
If you’ve ever watched a pitcher rehab, you know exactly what he means. The calendar moves how it moves. The arm responds how it responds. The only thing you can really own is the work in front of you.
The interview wrapped with a nod to the other young pitchers who’ve gone through similar roads. Hurt mentioned how meaningful it was to see guys he came up with succeed and return from surgery, specifically shouting out Emmet Sheehan. “It was really cool to see him get back out there super quick after his surgery,” Hurt said.
And even as he talked about not being with the team during the World Series, you could hear how locked in he was as a viewer. The nervous energy. The feeling of watching your friends compete while you’re stuck on the outside.
“I was watching and I was going pretty nuts,” Hurt said. “It was very nerve-wracking. It was really fun to watch.”
This year, Hurt will have a chance to do more than just watch. But on a team with this depth, he knows every spot in the bullpen is going to have to be earned. But for once, he’s in a spot to do it.
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