There will never be anything so important resting inside Tyler Wells’ glove again.

In the days after the birth of his daughter, Ava Faye, the Orioles pitcher pulled out his newly crafted glove — light blue and pink laces with his daughter’s name stitched in — and placed the newborn within the webbing. He cradled them both for a photo, and when he pulled that colorful glove down from atop his locker in the Orioles clubhouse a few weeks later, Wells also pulled out his phone to look at the image again.

Wells is a proud new father. His wife, Melissa, gave birth to their first-born child last month. And while Wells is working through the slog that is rehab from elbow reconstruction surgery, the time sidelined has a silver lining to it. He was there for his wife during her pregnancy. And for nearly every day of Ava’s life, Wells has been there, too.

That’s not always the case for major leaguers. Paternity leave lasts three days. But as Wells continues his throwing progression — he’s close to pitching off a mound again — the benefit of a slow recovery is who he gets to spend time with instead.

And when he’s at the stadium, his new blue-and-pink glove will serve as a reminder for whom he plays.

“It’s nice to have something, especially whenever you’re out there and you have chaos on the field or whatever is going on, you can kind of look at it and there’s your purpose,” said Wells, 30. “There’s the reason why you’re out there. There’s a reason you put in those long days and put in that hard work.”

All of Wells’ gloves have those sorts of reminders. Another glove, a classic brown color, has the initials MBW, for Melissa, Buckley (their dog) and Wells. Another tan glove has MBAW, adding in Ava’s name. The blue and pink of Ava’s personal glove makes it unique in his collection, and even if it wears down over the years from playing catch, he’ll never get rid of it.

Last year, Wells experienced elbow inflammation after three starts. By June, he underwent season-ending surgery and turned his focus toward a lengthy road back to the mound.

Around the same time Wells’ rehab began, he and Melissa found out she was pregnant. The discovery brought light to what can otherwise be an isolating recovery. It allowed him to be present for his wife. And as Wells’ grandfather’s health wavered as he fights stage IV pancreatic cancer, Wells could go visit him.

“Selfishly, would I like to go out there and play all the time? Yes,” Wells said. “But at the same time, too, there are wins that are not baseball-related whenever it comes to rehab that you really have to enjoy.”

Wells and Melissa decided on Faye as Ava’s middle name. Wells’ mother died when he was 4. His grandmother has also since died. Faye was both of their middle names, and Melissa and Tyler wanted to honor their memories.

As Wells grew up, the oldest of four boys, he changed diapers and served as another caregiver. But to have your own?

For nine months, reality set in for Melissa of how their life would forever change. She was carrying their daughter. But the full reality didn’t strike Wells until he entered the operating room at the hospital to hear the first cries from Ava.

“This is the most crazy thing that has ever happened in my life — the best thing that has ever happened in my life,” Wells said. “And then you’re holding her, and she finally gets that sense of peace and calm when you lay her on her mother’s chest or she’s on your chest, and she’s sitting there and listening to your heartbeat.”

Now it’s real to Wells, and nothing seems as important as the family around him.

“There’s a sense of duty,” Wells said. “You realize now, every day you wake up, that child is ultimately relying on you and her mother to provide and protect them. And for me, I think it’s ultimately the greatest job in the world. It’s a great responsibility to make sure I can provide for my family and making sure I can give everything I have to my wife and daughter. And my dog. Can’t ever forget my dog.”

As Wells nears the next step of his rehab — he’s over the halfway point — he’ll be at the stadium more. Melissa and Ava will soon make the trek from Florida to join Wells in Baltimore; he only recently made the journey himself.

When he’s at the park, though, his mind can still wander back to those who mean the most to him. With just a glance down at his blue-and-pink glove, Wells will recall the time Ava Faye sat inside it, asleep.

The next catch will be for her.