JUPITER, Fla. -- Brett Cecil feels like himself again.

No, literally -- he can feel his arm moving the way it’s supposed to, can feel the baseball leave the tips of his fingers, can feel where the pitch is supposed to go now. A year ago, he couldn’t feel any of that -- or, really, anything in his left hand, especially during his follow-through while pitching.

Ultimately, it was discovered that Cecil had carpal tunnel syndrome. He had surgery and rehabbed for much of last season before being shut down in August -- never having thrown a pitch for the Cardinals in 2019.

The left-hander, entering the final year of his four-year, $30.5 million contract, insists there is still hope for this year, even after injuries have cost him most of the past two.

“I’m happy just to be feeling the way I’m feeling,” Cecil said with a sigh of relief. “And I’m going to go out there and do my best to get outs. I’m going to pitch to the situation, pitch to certain batters certain ways, just to try and get them out as quickly as I can. That’s that. Just get the outs I’m supposed to get out.”

After signing the Cardinals’ largest deal for a free-agent reliever, Cecil has given the club one decent year. In '17, he pitched in a career-high 73 games and had a 3.88 ERA. In '18, he pitched in just 40 games with a 6.89 ERA and had two stints on the injured list (left shoulder strain and right foot inflammation). In '19, he showed up to Spring Training having lost 60 pounds and determined to make it the year he bounced back. The weight loss, though, threw off his delivery and delayed his start in Spring Training games. And then the carpal tunnel was discovered.

With the numbness in his arm, Cecil lost his control on the mound. He started to feel like he was losing control of his career, too.

“They’re not kidding when they say this game is a tough mental game,” Cecil said. “It was definitely frustrating, and I would let myself get frustrated because if I held it all in, it would come out in one big burst, which is bad.”

As he rehabbed, Cecil leaned on his family and especially his dad, who was a Marine and tried to instill that mentality in Cecil.

“He would say, you know, 'They break you down to your lowest point and then build you back up,'” Cecil said. “'Build you back better.' I credit him with that mentality, being able to share those stories and instilling those values. I consider myself a pretty mentally strong person, but it was definitely tough at times.”

This spring, Cecil is working on building himself back up. He’s healthy and has no restrictions when throwing. He has received positive feedback from coaches and trainers who have watched his bullpen and live batting practice sessions. And he’ll likely throw Saturday in the Cardinals’ spring opener to begin his quest back to a bullpen role, which won’t be easy with left-handers Andrew Miller, Tyler Webb, Genesis Cabrera and Kwang-Hyun Kim in the mix of competition.

“I see him getting every opportunity to do that,” manager Mike Shildt said. “Brett’s healthy, he’s now in the mix of competition, so you can’t be on the club unless you’re able to compete for a spot on the team, and he’s in there with no limitations.

“Really proud of and respect a lot about how he’s been able to face the challenges that he’s had the last several years on multiple levels. He’s better for it. He’s competing, he’s in a good spot mentally, physically.”

But the 33-year-old is not blindly optimistic. He knows he has one more chance to prove to himself, the Cardinals and the fan base that the contract he signed three years ago has not gone completely awry. Injury is a concern for every player, but especially for someone with a recent history with it.

This spring feels different; now he must show it’s different.

“I don’t feel like when I’m pitching, I’m searching for something every pitch, searching for the right mechanic,” Cecil said. “Now it’s like if I don’t throw this pitch where I want it, I can pinpoint pretty quickly why it went for a ball, why it didn’t do what it was supposed to do.

“Honestly, I feel good. I need to just keep going with this and keep working. Hopefully take it into the game Saturday, into spring, into the season.”