San Diego – Tyler Wells would have traveled anywhere to finally launch in a major league match. The calendar did not matter. He waited 17 months. Just give him the ball and get out of his way.
But if Wells could concoct the ideal scenario, the return of the return of this evening against the Petco Park Padres could be.
“You know,” he said, “to do it here in southern California where a large part of my family lives, having my wife (Melissa) and her daughter (Ava Faye) with us now, it’s quite special.”
Wells underwent reconstructive elbow surgery in June 2024 and being a new father was a joyful distraction for him. He would rehabilitate himself at the Sarasota complex and returned home to Melissa and their baby, who arrived in March.
“I mean, I’m just super excited and grateful,” he said. “During this whole process, with her born and obviously the relationship that me and my wife continued to grow, it’s just I think that the testimony not only of the work I could put in the training room and on the field, but also far from the game. It makes him even more special.
“I don’t really know another word to say, but” special “is certainly the only word that comes to mind.”
There must also be a relief to start.
Wells has undergone Tommy John surgery among minors, before the Orioles chose it in the rule 5 project of 2020. He knows as well as anyone who can create a more intimidating challenge than the physical part.
“It was a little easier this time because I understood what to expect, but at the same time too, so many things have changed and so much can change,” he said. “It is really about focusing continuously on myself and being continuously adaptable in the situation, whether it is the clubhouse, whether with the way the team goes, all that could end. I just try to continue to be a positive day in all this.”
The changes that Wells references can apply to the family and the team.
“I mean, I guess you could say both,” he said. “Obviously, this year is not exactly what we are planning. It was difficult, but at the same time, it also gave many guys a lot of very good opportunities.
“In my personal life, too, as being a dad, you know that it was the first year that I and my wife were married and immediately it is as if you had a lot, I mean adversity, but in a way that I have the impression that there were other words that could describe it. Pitch. But you know more importantly, a better husband and dad.
More reflections arrive at some point. Wells will be restored today from the 60 -day injured list, with a launcher with the active list and a corresponding movement also necessary on the 40 man. He will contemplate the long traveling road, how she makes him stronger and how he is blessed with a support system that advances him after another setback.
He just doesn’t know when it’s going to hit.
“Yeah, I really think that there will be this moment, whether before or after, but you know, at the end of the day, I have a job to do and it is the only thing that I did not remove since my state of mind goes,” he said.
“You know, even if (tonight) will be special enough in this way, there is still a job to do. And you know, I don’t know when this moment will be. It could be a few days later, it could be just after, it could be before.
Wells cannot let the moment overwhelm him and become a distraction. He considered that night during the rehabilitation, but also swore to stay in the present. To be where your feet are, as the players say.
“It was a bit like a back and forth,” he said. “It’s like you don’t want to surpass yourself because you understand that once you go there, there is a lot of adrenaline, so you want to make sure it’s a kind of controlled chaos in your brain. But at the same time, too, I thought about it in a very exciting way and to be able to build this anticipation, that’s for sure.
“It’s funny because I sat there and I thought there a lot of nights, I turned here. Even as the day I operated, I was already thinking about how it was going to end up being.
Kyle Bradish did the same after her elbow surgery in June 2024, making his second departure last night. They became brothers in repaired arms.
“I’m really excited,” said Bradish. “I think he will go out and throw the ball well. He made a long rehabilitation trip, just like me, and being able to cross it, I will be delighted to look. ”
