GRANVILLE — If Dayne Leonard had his way, he’d never play another game for the West Virginia Black Bears.
It’s not that Leonard dislikes playing for the Black Bears. Quite the opposite, in fact, as he’s extremely grateful for the team and manager David Carpenter giving him the opportunity to play this summer.
It’s more that Leonard is waiting for the first call from an MLB organization offering him a contract so he can get out of Morgantown and begin his professional career.
“I would be more than happy to take a phone call right now,” Leonard said after the Black Bears’ 5-0 win over Williamsport on Tuesday. “I’ll just take it day by day and see what happens and do my best out there.”
Everyone playing in the second half of the MLB Draft League season feels that way. They’re players who are out of college eligibility and who didn’t get picked up in the MLB draft, and any one of them would leap at the chance to head to affiliated ball.
For Leonard, the former WVU catcher, it’s a little different, however, because this time last year, he thought his professional career was already starting.
After the draft last summer, Leonard got a call from the Cincinnati Reds and went to Arizona to sign as an undrafted free agent with their Complex League team.
When Leonard got there, however, he failed the team’s physical as it was revealed he had a torn UCL and bone spurs in his throwing arm that would require surgery.
“They sent me back and I was kind of scrambling to figure out what my game plan was,” Leonard said. “I felt like I could still throw, but it wasn’t good.”
Leonard played two seasons at WVU in 2022 and 2023. The Mountaineers’ primary catcher, he hit .289 across 108 career games with seven home runs, 20 doubles and 71 RBI.
After graduating last spring, he played for the Black Bears during the first half of the 2023 Draft League season, hitting .231 in seven games.
He knew he was hurt during his senior year with the Mountaineers, but he had no idea how bad it was.
“You kind of know, but you don’t know,” Leonard said. “It was definitely a different type of pain, but the last thing I wanted to do was to stop playing baseball, especially during my last year at West Virginia.”
After getting the news about his elbow, Leonard wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He couldn’t play and no MLB team would sign him with a bum throwing arm. Plus he needed a place where he would be able to go through rehab for the better part of a year.
Leonard reached out to his WVU coaches — former head coach Randy Mazey and his successor, Steve Sabins, and they were more than happy to help him out.
“When I was scrambling trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I reached out to them because I wanted to do my rehab right, I didn’t want to mess it up,” Leonard said. “I asked them if I could come back and help them out with whatever I can and rehab with (WVU athletic trainer) Steven (Rosier).
“I was thinking about what my plan was after I found out the news with my elbow and it was all set up too perfectly here with the West Virginia coaching staff allowing me to come back and rehab. I was a student manager for the team, just kind of helping set up everything and helping the coaches with whatever they needed. I was a bullpen catcher — it was kind of like paying it back for what they’ve done for me.”
Even when the WVU school year ended, Leonard was able to stay in Morgantown because he knew there was a spot on the Black Bears waiting for him.
“He got an opportunity with a pro team and really got done wrong,” Carpenter said. “(It’s cool) to see him fight his way back to get back into pro ball. He deserves to be in pro ball — he should be playing. I’m thankful that he’s here and we’re going to try and get him out of here as quickly as we can.”
Leonard was finally medically cleared to return to game action on July 18, the first day of the second half of the Draft League season. In four games since joining the team, Leonard has gone 2 for 8 at the plate with three walks. He hit a sacrifice fly and caught a runner stealing in the team’s win on Tuesday.
“He’s a pro-style catcher,” said Carpenter, who was drafted as a catcher before transitioning to pitching as a professional. “How he handles things behind the plate, his approach at the plate, there’s a lot of good things there and I think somebody’s going to be smart and try to get a hold of him pretty quick.”
“It’s definitely not an ideal situation,” Leonard admitted. “But I have a lot of good people around me trying to help me make the right decisions. It was definitely not an easy year, but I’m grateful for every opportunity I have.”
While both he and Carpenter want Leonard to be on the Black Bears as briefly as possible this summer, the 24-year-old is taking the next six weeks one day at a time.
“I just believe that whatever will happen, will happen, so I’m not trying to think too far ahead in the future or dwell on the past at all,” Leonard said. “Just be present in the day and just show up and do what I’ve got to do.”
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