SARASOTA, Fla. — Kyle Bradish is getting a “normal” spring, even if things are still far from normal for him.

Bradish, who had Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery in June, spent the second half of last season away from the team as he rehabbed. Now, even though he can only play catch on flat ground, he is at least happy to be around his friends as he works his way back.

He’s had no setbacks, he said, and he anticipates that he’ll be ready to join the team at some point this season.

“I have full confidence in myself that I’ll make a full recovery and I’ll be back out there like the pitcher I was in ‘23 and last year before triggering it,” he said on Monday, his first time speaking to the media since the surgery.

Bradish debuted in 2022 but really emerged on the scene in 2023, when he pitched to a 2.83 ERA and finished fourth in the vote for the American League Cy Young Award. What wasn’t known, though, was that he was pitching through elbow pain at the end of the 2023 season, pain that never went away.

In January 2024, he got a platelet-rich plasma injection for his sprained UCL opting to try a non-surgical approach that had him back on the mound in May. He seemed to pick up where he left off, pitching to a 2.75 ERA in eight starts. But he was in significant pain the entire time, and after that eighth start, when he allowed just two runs in five innings, he decided he couldn’t do it again. Bradish had the elbow surgery five days later.

Tommy John surgery was discussed in January, when Bradish got the PRP injection, and, if he had gotten it then, he would be on track to make the 2025 opening day roster. Even so, he said he has no regrets trying that route first.

“I’m glad I gave it a shot and got the injection,” he said. “What I was feeling was I was kind of dealing with in the second half of the year before. We didn’t know what extent it was so I decided I could go out and pitch and do the same thing, and it just kind of gradually got worse. But I think if I were have gotten surgery in January there kind of would have been a little regret and questioning if maybe I didn’t have to get surgery because it didn’t feel that bad at that moment.”

The recovery time for Tommy John is 12 to 18 months, putting a return, at the earliest, around the All-Star break. He’s had no setbacks, he said, and his arm feels really good.

When he returns, he’ll join a rotation that is expected to include Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano. Tyler Wells, who had also had elbow surgery last June, is expected to be ready to return mid-season.

“Whenever someone is coming off Tommy John or a major surgery or injury, you’re optimistic and hoping for the best,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “You know we believe in Kyle’s makeup — he’s a bulldog. It’s been hard for him not being out there with the team last year at the end and this spring. He’s doing an amazing job from a rehab standpoint, he’s checking off all the boxes.”