PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- An infected right pinkie toe seemed like such a minor injury to Red Sox reliever Ryan Brasier last year in Spring Training.

But the aftereffects -- the kinks that developed in Brasier’s mechanics -- were damaging.

Not so damaging, however, to prevent Brasier, 32, from being one of the top comeback candidates for the 2020 Red Sox.

Much like Brasier came out of nowhere to emerge into a dominant setup piece for Boston’s 2018 World Series champs, he has the chance to do it again after his disappointing ’19 season (4.85 ERA).

When you hear about the locks for the Red Sox’s bullpen, the names are Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes, Darwinzon Hernandez, Josh Taylor and Marcus Walden.

Brasier is on the bubble -- in competition with a crowded pool of pitchers vying for the final few spots. But if the way he is throwing the ball this spring is any indication, the righty will be going north with the Red Sox for Opening Day.

In Wednesday night's 3-1 win, Brasier swiftly dispatched of the Rays in a 1-2-3 fifth inning, striking out one. Over four outings in Spring Training, Brasier has allowed three hits and one run over five innings, walking none and striking out four.

He is pitching like someone the Red Sox remember fondly.

“Certainly our goal and his goal is to get back to the guy he was in 2018, because he was very, very good that year and really important,” said Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush. “It’s not to discount the year he had last year, but he wasn’t quite himself most of the year.”

For that, you can at least partially blame Brasier’s annoyance of a right pinkie toe injury.

“For sure,” Brasier said. “I don’t know that physically I could really feel it, but I think I definitely had a few little adjustments that I tried to maybe make to not make my toe hurt. I couldn’t really tell anything [specific], but I think it had an underlying [effect].”

Things got bad enough for Brasier that on July 16, he was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

It was a decline nobody could have expected from a pitcher who had a 1.60 ERA in 34 regular-season appearances in 2018 and a 1.04 ERA in nine postseason appearances.

In actuality though, the monthlong demotion to Pawtucket is what allowed Brasier to get back on his feet again.

“As bad as it sucked going back down, I wasn’t throwing the ball real well and I had some stuff to work on, and it’s hard to work on stuff in the big leagues. It hurts you most of the time,” Brasier said. “I knew I needed to work on some stuff, so going down and getting it right, I knew as long as I fixed it, I’d be back pretty quick.”

It was all about mechanics. Brasier didn’t wish to get too specific, but Bush highlighted the root of the problem.

“He was kind of drifting toward the plate,” Bush said. “I know that’s a broad term that can encompass a lot of things. He was messing with his timing, his release point was inconsistent, so he was having trouble keeping the ball glove-side, and he was having some sliders that would back up over the plate.

“When he was at his best the year before, he was able to dot the outside corner pretty consistently and pretty easily. He wasn’t able to do that as easily last year. He had to work a lot harder to get to that part of the strike zone. So really just cleaning up his mechanics so he could get to that part of the zone. Because if he could get there, he could get to other places too.”

Teams never know how a player will respond to getting sent back to the Minors, but that decision with Brasier appears to be the right one.

“It’s not an easy game when you go out there and you’re giving up runs and just not pitching the way you think you can,” said Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke. “I think it allowed him to go back and physically get a break, but mentally, taking that load off and not stressing so much. Once you get your confidence in the Minor Leagues and you know it’s back again, then it makes it easier to bring him back up and to do well.”

Brasier returned to the Red Sox in mid-August and put up goose eggs in 14 of 18 outings the rest of the way, including eight scoreless appearances in a row to finish the season.

“Hopefully I’ll just kind of ride off of that and start this year strong,” Brasier said.

Which Brasier does Roenicke feel like he is watching this spring?

“The one from two years ago, when he was good,” Roenicke said. “The ball is coming out really well. The slider is back. Last year at the end, we thought he was good when he came back up again. So I see him closer to that than what he was at the beginning of the year last year.”

You’ll recall that two years ago, Brasier wasn’t even a rostered player with the Red Sox during Spring Training. Instead, he would come over as an “extra” and stifle the opposition in the ninth inning. When Brasier first appeared in a regular-season game for the Sox that July, hardly any Boston players knew who he was. Then-manager Alex Cora hollered across the dugout, “That was my Spring Training closer!”

In other words, putting himself back on the radar isn’t a challenge that fazes Brasier.

“Obviously we know the guys who are going to be on the team and who’s fighting for a spot,” Brasier said. “Just trying to control what you can control and doing your thing when you’re on the mound.”