The last time Dan Winkler faced the Cardinals, he sustained a fractured elbow that chopped off more than a year of his career.
He saw those Cardinals again Saturday, albeit in a spring-training affair. Still, those are the mental hurdles he believes he must overcome.
Winkler joined the Braves as a Rule 5 pick from Colorado before the 2015 season. He’s pitched 18 1/3 innings as a Brave, unable to stay on the field during the past three seasons with elbow problems.
He has only pitched only 5 2/3 innings in five games this spring, but that’s by design. The Braves are being careful with Winkler, who’s locked in a cluster of competitors vying for a role in the bullpen, but confident he’ll be on the team come March 29.
“They gave me time to ease into it, which I’m very grateful for given the things I’ve gone through in the past,” Winkler said. “So just making sure that I’m coming into the season healthy. That was the really big thing for me. Just getting back to being competitive, attacking the glove, game-speed.”
The 28-year-old bounced back from his second elbow surgery in three years to pitch for the Braves in August. He posted a 2.51 ERA across 14 1/3 innings while holding opponents to a .152 average.
“Finally I was healthy,” he said. “I didn’t have any restrictions whenever (Braves manager Brian Snitker) needed me. I was ready. That was a big thing for me because I was a starter before all the injuries. But really being in the bullpen again, being in that routine and doing it every day was really big for me, especially going into this season. And hopefully I’m ready for a full 162.”
Working in Winkler’s favor is his Rule 5 status. While most of his time has been spent on the disabled list, he still has to be on the Braves’ 25-man roster for the first few weeks of the season or the team must offer him back to the Rockies.
That stipulation notwithstanding, Winkler knows it’s a numbers game.
“Obviously you think about it, but you try not to worry about it,” he said. “You want everybody to succeed. You want this team to be a great, winning team. That’s all I try to worry about is helping this team win ballgames and try to be the best pitcher I can.”
Health-wise, Winkler is 100 percent. He pitched a perfect ninth inning against the Cardinals on Saturday, striking out the first batter before inducing a fly out and ground out.
But it wasn’t just another spring appearance.
“Pitching against the Cardinals, that’s who I broke my arm against,” he said. “Mentally, it’s about getting over little humps like that. Feeling good about being on the mound again. It’s a confidence booster.”
If Winkler builds off last season’s preview, he’ll be a boost to a Braves bullpen that ranked among the worst in the majors a year ago. But he knows there will be roadblocks in the way, and he’s OK with that.
“I just try to do everything I can to prove I deserve to be here,” he said. “Lately I haven’t, but I have to get back to that mindset of attacking the glove and that I belong up here.
“I try not to think about (the competition), but it is hard. Every spring is hard. I’d want it no other way.”
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