Mikolas' elbow better, hopes to make debut soon

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Miles Mikolas wants to make a strong impression on his new team this spring, but his elbow hasn't been cooperative thus far. Acquired from the Pirates in December, the right-hander has been dealing with soreness in his elbow, and although he has begun a throwing program to return to action, his patience is running thin.

"I'm a little disappointed in my body," Mikolas said. "I thought I had a good offseason working out and running, and then we get here and it turns around on me a little bit. It feels good now and I think hopefully I can get into some of these games before they start making the decisions. I want to show them that I'm here to play."

Mikolas played catch Wednesday from 120 feet and said he plans on throwing a bullpen session in the next couple of days. Once that happens, he won't be too far from appearing in Cactus League games, where he'll try to turn some heads.

"You want to come in and show them what you got; show them your stuff," said Mikolas, who was traded twice in the offseason, once from San Diego and once from Pittsburgh. "The last team you end up with is the team that wants you the most, so I'm glad they had the desire to go out and get me and now I want to get out on the mound."

Armed with a 93-94 mph fastball and quality curveball, Mikolas has made 27 big league appearances, all with the Padres. In those 34 innings, the 25-year-old tallied a 3.44 ERA and 24 strikeouts.