FORT MYERS, Fla. — In the days after the Twins acquired Chris Paddack, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the club had been asking the San Diego Padres about the pitcher since 2017. That was well before the right-hander debuted, when he was just a prospect — albeit a well-regarded one.

The Twins finally landed him in a trade the day before the 2022 season began — but their dreams of seeing him pitch in their rotation were quickly put on hold.

After five starts, Paddack injured his ulnar collateral ligament, requiring Tommy John surgery that May. This being his second TJ surgery, the recovery process was slower than typical, with Paddack spending nearly all of last season at the Twins’ facility in Fort Myers.

He made it back by the end of last season, appearing in two regular season games out of the bullpen before throwing 3 2/3 dominant innings in the American League Division Series. Now, he’s gearing up to return to the rotation, where his success will be critical for a group that lost Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda to free agency.

“I think when he was in the ‘pen, he learned that bulldog mentality — not that he didn’t already have that — but just another extreme of that,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “I’m really excited to see how that translates to him being back in the starting rotation.”

Paddack said he has been playing around with a new pitch that he called a “slider/cutter,” a process that he said has been challenging. But he’s happy with how the pitch has progressed.

But really, the biggest thing for him is staying healthy.

The 28-year-old he said he planned on leaning on Pablo López, who did not miss a start last season, and is challenging himself to mirror some of the ace’s routine in his quest to stay on the field. Though the Twins have yet to talk to him about what his workload might look like, he hopes to be able to throw somewhere between 140-160 innings, a goal he has written down in his journal.

“I don’t know what we’re going to end up doing as far as ways to help him get to a full season,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think he stands a pretty good shot of going out there and pitching in the rotation all year long.”

Throwing between 140-160 innings would be a big milestone for the starter, considering it’s a number he hasn’t reached since his rookie season in 2019. While Baldelli said they don’t have any hard limits with Paddack, they’ll have to be mindful and very aware of where he is at given how long he was out.

“They have made it clear, ‘We want you pitching in October.’ … There’s going to be days where I’m like, ‘Rocco, give me that ball back. I want to be out here and I want to compete and win,’” Paddack said. “But being able to look him in the eyes and be like, ‘You know, I respect it, five innings is going to be all I’ve got tonight.’ ”

As he shifts his attention back to starting, Paddack’s other focuses include being present in the moment and challenging himself to get more educated on some of the technology and resources the Twins’ pitching coaches have available for him to use.

While Paddack did pitch out of the bullpen in the major leagues at the end of next season, he’s scheduled to get the ball on Friday, Baldelli said, in the Twins’ first game of the spring.

It’s another milestone for him on his long road back.

“When you bust your ass for 16 months, 17 months and I’m on my boat watching the boys on my iPad, day in and day out, grinding and knowing what it takes to stay healthy, then win games — I got the itch,” Paddack said.