BRADENTON, Fla. -- Nick Burdi spent most of last season working his way back from Tommy John surgery. He spent the offseason regaining the strength he lost during that long, grueling rehabilitation process. Now, he’s ready to pitch.

Burdi was still rehabbing this time last year, so this is a different kind of Spring Training for him. After making two big league appearances last September, he’s competing for a spot in Pittsburgh’s Opening Day bullpen.

“It’s been good. It’s a little more on the table, I guess, fighting for a job,” Burdi said. “Every time you go out there, you know you’re battling for a position with six or seven other guys. It’s been exciting.”

For the most part, it’s been an encouraging spring for the 26-year-old Burdi. The former second-round Draft pick has allowed two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out 11 in 6 1/3 innings over six appearances. The Pirates like his power stuff -- a fastball that has touched triple digits in the past and a wipeout slider -- and they’re looking for arms to solidify a middle-relief corps that too often let them down last season.

“He’s come in in a good spot. He’s been competing. He’s been making pitches,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “The velocity’s playing. The slider’s come into play a little bit. He continues to give you things to think about.”

The Pirates will have some decisions to make when it comes to Burdi. He only spent a month on the active roster last season, meaning he has not yet shed his Rule 5 restrictions. Therefore, the Pirates must either carry Burdi on their roster for the first two months of the season or offer him back to the Twins, even though he hasn’t thrown a pitch in Minnesota’s system since May 21, 2017 -- his last outing before Tommy John surgery.

“If I stick with the team, that’s the end goal. At the end of the day, it’s being able to throw a baseball again and being able to play baseball,” said Burdi, the Pirates’ No. 24 prospect per MLB Pipeline. “If I can’t pitch, I don’t have a job anywhere. The biggest thing is just staying on the mound, staying healthy and trying to compete wherever I’m at.”

To that end, Burdi rebuilt his body during the offseason. He lost 20-25 pounds after undergoing surgery in 2017, which sapped him of some strength when he returned to the mound last season. After a year of rehab, the 6-foot-3 righty put on about 20 pounds of muscle while working out over the winter with trainer Peter Mollo at his gym in Johnston, R.I.

“That was the biggest thing, getting that weight and that strength back,” Burdi said. “This was definitely my best offseason of workouts and getting ready for the season.”

During the rehab process, Burdi learned a lot about how to prepare himself. The former high school quarterback compared his old habits to two-a-day practices -- a hard mid-afternoon workout followed by an all-out appearance at night. He still pushes himself in the weight room, but he also takes 30-45 minutes a day to stretch and warm up -- and it’s all geared toward pitching.

Burdi can tell the difference, too. His fastball has a little more oomph. He said the slider that felt like it was “tugging” on his surgically repaired right elbow last year seems to improve each time he takes the mound.

“I definitely learned how to maintain my body and sit back a little bit instead of trying to do more and more to get ready,” Burdi said. “You put in that work, get ready to play the game and not try to overdo it. I think that’s what happened earlier and kind of led to the injury.”

That work seems to be paying off on the mound this spring. If all goes well, he could be pitching in Pittsburgh in a few weeks.