ANAHEIM -- It was a tough and oftentimes confusing road for Jared Walsh, but the first baseman was back in the lineup and starting at first base for the Angels on Saturday after dealing with neurological issues for a year and a half.

Walsh played through the symptoms in 2022, but finally sought treatment at the end of Spring Training after his mom, Lisa, found a treatment center in Utah. Walsh started the season on the injured list as a result and missed the Angels’ first 46 games before returning against the Twins. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, an RBI groundout, a popped-up bunt attempt and a hard-hit liner to center in a 6-2 loss at Angel Stadium.

“It was good,” Walsh said. “It was really exciting. Felt a little foreign at first but as the game went on, I felt more comfortable."

Walsh, who dealt with symptoms such as vertigo, tremors and a lack of spatial awareness, said he’s not fully symptom-free, but has found ways to manage it with the help of several specialists who include neurologists, vestibular therapists and neuro-ophthalmologists.

“I think it's definitely a process and hopefully I keep on improving, but a lot better than I felt last year, which is all I can ask for,” Walsh said. “So just keep getting better every day. I know it's a cliché, but I really believe it in my circumstance.”

Walsh, 29, appeared primed for a huge year in 2022 after being named an All-Star for the first time in 2021 and hitting 29 homers with 98 RBIs in 144 games. But early in the season, Walsh started to feel off and couldn’t pinpoint why he felt so fatigued and why his motor skills were declining.

Walsh played through it but mostly struggled, hitting .215 with 15 homers and 44 RBIs in 118 games before undergoing season-ending surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome in late August. Walsh said he believes his TOS symptoms were worsened by his neurological issues.

“I think there was just kind of a general fogginess,” Walsh said. “Trouble fixating my gaze with my eyes, stuff like that. And then just not really having a great idea of where my body was in space.”

Walsh tried to manage his condition as best as he could over the offseason and came into Spring Training penciled in as the club’s starting first baseman. He fared well offensively, hitting .400 in 14 games, but finally reached a breaking point shortly before the start of the season and told the Angels about his symptoms and that he wanted to seek treatment.

Walsh spent five weeks in a treatment program in Utah, going every weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After he completed that, he returned to Anaheim where he began to increase his baseball activity while also seeing specialists in Los Angeles.

Walsh said he still hasn’t found out what caused the symptoms, although several specialists believe it could’ve been COVID-19 related. But he’s found ways to alleviate them and has been feeling like himself since early May.

“I met some incredibly smart people that have pushed me in the right direction,” Walsh said. “Showed me how to manage this stuff. So it's been great. I just feel so much better than I did last year. A lot more refreshed. Have a little bit more energy and stuff like that. So I'm hoping it pays off.”

Walsh began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on May 12 and excelled in seven games, hitting .440 with a homer and six RBIs. But he said he might need some time to fully adjust in his return to the Majors.

“It's kind of like Spring Training 2.0,” Walsh said. “So I could potentially be working through some rust still while I'm here and that's just baseball. We have the highs and lows. Some days you're on time, some days you're not. I think that the more reps I get, the more confidence I'm going to build, hit some barrels, make some plays and things will get rolling,”

Angels manager Phil Nevin said he was excited to have Walsh back in the lineup and plans on utilizing him as the club’s everyday first baseman. Walsh has been cleared to play without any restrictions, although Nevin said he’ll still find off-days for Walsh, likely against left-handed starting pitchers.

“It’s awesome,” Nevin said. “It was great writing his name in the lineup card. We planned on him being our first baseman and just wasn't that way for the first month and a half. You make adjustments and we had plenty of guys over there that filled in and did a fine job. But he's been our guy.”