MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Brewers pitcher Manny Parra was unable to pitch at all last season due to a series of injuries, including season-ending elbow surgery on his left throwing arm.
But Parra is back now and will be ready for spring training.
"Right now I'm full-go," Parra said in a one-on-one interview during Brewers On Deck. "I don't expect to have any hurdles. I'm doing well. I'm throwing and everything feels good right now."
The only hurdle that Parra may have to overcome is getting the coaching staff to recognize him. Ron Roenicke was in his first season last year as Brewers manager, but Parra left the team in May to begin his rehabilitation assignment in Nashville.
"It's been so long, I don't even think they know me," Parra said. "They don't know me, really. As a pitcher, they don't know me. They've seen probably video and stuff like that, though. I pitched against one hitter in spring training last year and that's it. It's an opportunity for me to go out there and really get to know them, and let them get to know me.
"Right now I just can't wait to get back on the mound, put a uniform on again."
Parra, who started 56 games for the Brewers in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, knows that he won't be a starter this year. He described his role this season as simply "bullpen," unsure of whether that meant long-relief or late-innings work.
"I think you are whatever a team needs you for," Parra said. "A guy in my situation right now, man, it was heart-breaking not being able to be part of the team last year and go through all that run. I wasn't with the team very long. I didn't get to really be part of any of that, and it sucked."
Parra, 29, could be a big addition to a Brewers bullpen that went without a left-handed relief pitcher for several months last season.
Although Parra's elbow injury was his biggest setback, he also had a back injury in 2011. Plus, in October 2010, he had surgery to repair a small tear of the labrum in his left hip.
"I've been trying to keep my back healthy, and keep my elbow healthy," Parra said. "It's interesting the way the body works, everything works together. You take care of one and it helps the other. We're hoping that taking care of my back will help my elbow, and right now it's working. We crushed physical therapy all summer."
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