URPRISE, Ariz. — Brandon Webb was a little wild with some of his pitches. All that really mattered to the right-hander was that he was throwing off a mound for the Texas Rangers and that his arm felt good.
The former NL Cy Young winner, who hadn't pitched in the majors since the 2009 season opener for Arizona because of shoulder surgery, was on the mound for the first time in 10 days Sunday. He threw at least 26 pitches during a 10-minute session after an extended program at the start of spring training to build up arm strength.
"Zero issues. I felt really good," Webb said with a smile. "I threw some changeups. … I didn't want to stop, so that was good."
After a short bullpen session during the first workout of spring training, the Rangers decided that Webb needed to build up arm strength before getting back on a mound. He worked up to Sunday's session with a program of throwing off flat ground and longer distances under the supervision of pitching coach Mike Maddux.
"We got on the mound. That's what we wanted to do," Maddux said. "So we're on target with our rehab right now, with what we're doing, our arm-strengthening program."
The Rangers are anticipating Webb to be part of their rotation, even if the 2006 NY Cy Young winner isn't ready at the start of the season. They want to be cautious with Webb, who was signed just a couple of weeks after the AL champions lost ace left-hander Cliff Lee in free agency.
Webb was one of the NL's best pitchers before shoulder surgery in August 2009, throwing more than 200 innings in five consecutive seasons. He tried to come back too quickly last spring with the Diamondbacks and ended up missing all of last season as well.
This spring, Webb feels so much better.
"I haven't been off the mound much in two years and hardly any when it felt real good to be where I feel like this is my normal mechanics, arm action, everything," he said. "I'm actually getting something out of it, actually taking something positive from it, not just getting through it. It's definitely a step in the right direction."
Maddux said, depending on how Webb feels Monday, the next step would be more long throws off flat ground and throwing off the mound every other day. The coach wasn't ready to commit to Webb being ready for the start of the season.
"The guy hasn't pitched for two years, we're not going to push him," Maddux said. "We're going to come back one time. That's the program, come back once, don't try to come back too soon. He paid for that one last year, so when the time is right, eventually he'll see the bright lights."
The Rangers signed Webb to a $3 million, one-year deal with the chance to earn another $5 million in performance bonuses. In 199 career games, all with the Diamondbacks since 2003, Webb is 87-62 with a 3.27 ERA, 1,065 strikeouts and 435 walks.
Webb was 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA the year he won the Cy Young Award, then improved his victory total in each of the next two seasons when he was also an All-Star. He was 18-10 with a 3.01 ERA in 2007, then 22-7 with a 3.30 ERA in 2008.
Webb acknowledged that it is "tough to put a timeframe" on when he's actually going to be ready, but still isn't giving up on being ready at the start of the season.
"I'm not going to ever count that out until it's totally wiped out," he said. "If it's a couple of weeks late, so be it, it's a couple of weeks late. I'm just anxious to get out there whenever I can. The exciting part for me, I can see the finish line. It's reachable."