PEORIA, Ariz. — It's become overused for athletes and coaches to say they're just taking it day by day.
For Mariners pitcher Tayler Saucedo, it's not cliché. It's crucial.
"Just knowing that tomorrow is a new day. That it's not always going to be like this," he said.
Saucedo knows the mind is a powerful tool — so powerful it got him to the Big Leagues against all odds, yet so powerful it almost cost him everything.
His time at Tahoma High School marked the start of a rocky road to the pros. He was cut from the baseball team as a sophomore and struggled as a junior.
"Ended up going zero-and-seven there that year. Me being the competitor that I am, I was kind of like, yeah, can't have that happen again," he said.
Saucedo bounced back his senior season and led the team to the state tournament.
He used that to launch a college career at Tacoma Community College, but it didn't last long.
"I went there for a year and I ended up dropping out. I stopped playing baseball," he said.
Saucedo again bounced back.
A call from Tennessee Wesleyan of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics got him back in school, back on a baseball field and firmly on the minds of Major League scouts.
"Coming from an NAIA (school), it's not the easiest route to get drafted from and so they told me I had a chance. They said to just keep your reality in check. But my reality was pro ball and I'm thankful to the Blue Jays for giving me that opportunity," he said.
Saucedo spent five years in the Blue Jays minor league system, making his MLB debut in 2021.
But he almost didn't get there. The 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"You don't really know how to handle that," he said.
It was the straw that almost broke him.
"I just kind of unraveled and it got pretty bad to the point where I was like, you know, I don't think I'm going to do anything with my life. I don't think I'm going to go anywhere and I don't want to do this anymore," he said. "I would just kind of be like, today's the day. I'm going to end it.'"
Saucedo said he found his way out of it by journaling.
"I just started piecing together what I needed to do for myself, and that was writing down why I feel this way, how am I going to get out of this," he said.
Saucedo said he's now in a better place.
"I know the steps now not to get that place ever again," he said.
It's a better place both mentally and physically now that he's back home in the Mariners organization.
"It's a dream come true, it's a pinch me kind of moment," he said.
He knows his mind is a powerful tool — a power he now knows how to harness.
"Just knowing that tomorrow is a new day," he said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit Vibrant Emotional Health’s Safe Space for digital resources.