SAN DIEGO — Last June, on the day Tyler Wells underwent ulnar collateral ligament repair surgery on his right elbow with an internal brace augmentation, he thought about what his return might feel like.

On drives to visit the team in Tampa when he was rehabbing at the Orioles’ complex in Sarasota, Florida, he played his warm-up song and felt an adrenaline rush, imagining the feeling of running out to the mound again. At nights, as he lay awake, he pictured the moment his hard work finally comes to fruition.

On Tuesday, as he makes his first major league start since April 12, 2024, it’ll finally be time to do it for real. Wells has completed the lengthy recovery and returned from his second major elbow surgery.

Except this time, unlike when he had Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery as a minor leaguer in 2019, his priorities are different. Regardless of how his outing goes Tuesday, his only goal is to walk off the mound healthy. Because Wells has something more important to worry about now: his 5-month-old daughter Ava, who will be in attendance to watch her father pitch.

“It was a lot of learning, a lot of adapting, a lot of growing,” he said of the journey back. “I think that ultimately at the end of the day, it’s going to make me a better player, better teammate and better pitcher, but you know, most importantly, a better husband and dad.”

In 2019, when Wells underwent his first lengthy comeback from a UCL injury, he was alone. The rehab process is isolating — players have to spend months away from their teammates. Without the support system Wells has now, it was too easy for him to go down rabbit holes.

But this time around, he’s married to his wife, Melissa. He had Kyle Bradish, who had Tommy John surgery just a few weeks before Wells’ procedure and was on a similar rehab schedule. They pushed each other to be better, and their respective wives had someone to talk to going through the same experience.

“I hate that Bradish went through the same thing, but like I’m very grateful because I do think it made an impact on his recovery,” Melissa Wells said. “Mollie and I are also very close, so we were able to lean on each other, because it’s hard supporting them when they are going through something that is taking a year of your career away.”

And, most importantly, Tyler Wells has Ava. If there was one silver lining to this process, it’s that Wells has been able to soak up the last five months with his family. MLB players get only three days of paternity leave — most of which can be spent traveling to and from wherever their team is — but, because Wells was on the injured list, he was able to take two weeks. He got to be there for all of the early moments and support his wife as she recovered.

It’s also changed him, Melissa Wells said. Things that used to bother him when he went home from the stadium no longer matter. Ava is now his top priority.

He got a custom turquoise and pink glove made with her name printed on it so he can look down and remember whom he’s doing this for, but he does not plan to use it on Tuesday because the color scheme is the same as the Padres’ City Connect uniforms.

“I was like bracing myself and I think just being pregnant and the excitement of having a girl just really softened him, like softened his heart,” Melissa Wells said. “Like his outlook now is just like, I’m going to do my best for my family. I’m going to try really hard but I have so much good things happening in my life.”

Melissa Wells didn’t decide until Saturday to come to San Diego, going through the long flight alone with a baby to be there for this moment. She was already nervous on Sunday night, but she said Tyler talked her down.

She planned to do whatever it took Monday night to ensure Ava slept — or at least stayed quiet — so Tyler could get a good night’s sleep. Ava is in a sleep regression, and the three-hour time change doesn’t help either. On Tuesday, as Tyler takes the mound, Melissa will be pacing the concourse bouncing Ava.

“He’s like a healthy nervous,” Melissa Wells said. “I feel like he has a healthy confidence, like his mindset and stuff. He is so mentally strong, and I’m like so anxious because I care about him and I want him to do well and I want him to be happy. And like I feel like having her, I have removed myself from the anxieties of like what if this doesn’t go well? What if he has a setback? What if this happens?”

Tyler Wells’ mother, father, stepdad and brother will also be in attendance. No matter what happens, as long as he steps off the mound safe and sound Tuesday, it will be a win in their eyes.

“It just makes it that much more special,” he said. “I don’t really know of another word to put it, but special is definitely the only word that comes to mind.”

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Mollie Bradish’s first name