FRISCO -- Keone Kela has started his offseason throwing program without a hint of arm difficulty. Score one for the Rangers.

"Everything is great," Kela said Friday at an appearance that started the club's annual promotional tour of the region. "Moving forward."

The Rangers need a healthy Kela to make their increased reliance on the bullpen work in the coming season. His health coming off a demanding rookie season has been a matter of offseason concern for the club.

A year ago, Kela ranked tied for third among rookie relievers in appearances with 68 and was seventh in innings with 60 1/3 during the regular season. His previous highs were 44 appearances and 49 innings, at the High-A and Double-A levels combined in 2014.

When Kela pitched was as significant as how often he pitched.

Manager Jeff Banister threw Kela into the fire. According to baseballreference .com, Kela had 41 "high-leverage" appearances, most among major league rookies. The more difficult the predicament, the higher the leverage.

Kela handled the pressure. He tied Seattle's Carson Smith, since traded to Boston, for the major league lead among rookies in holds with 22. Kela gave away only three leads in 25 chances.

It was a stressful existence, and the demands caught up to Kela.

In the second half, he needed a 10-day break in the minors to rest and gather himself. That ranks as one of the best decisions by the Rangers for the season. Kela finished the regular season with 19 consecutive scoreless appearances.

In the final stage of the regular season, Kela worked through elbow soreness. He was able to pitch three times in the five-game American League Division Series, which left the entire club drained.

Kela needed every bit of a six-week break after the season.

"You don't know what to expect in your first big league season," Kela said. "There was a huge workload that I had to comprehend. Now, I understand it.

"Much more eager, just because of that taste of playoff baseball. I want that. I crave that. I never understood baseball to the fullest extent until I had the opportunity to play postseason baseball."

The next step, Kela said, is to stay strong from start to finish. He broke through a mental barrier last season by handling a major league workload. Now, Kela wants to see how far he can take it.

"Having an opportunity to pitch that much showed the capabilities of my body to myself," Kela said. "It also opened doors to exceed that. Now that I know I can pitch 60-plus [games], can I pitch 70, 70-plus?"

The Rangers may not need that much from Kela.

That club's most significant offseason moves to date have been with the bullpen, adding former Seattle closer Tom Wilhelmsen and Tony Barnette, who tied for the Japan Central League lead in saves last season with 41.

The Rangers also plan on having Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson in the bullpen for the entire season. The two relievers pitched well after being acquired in July deals last season.

The intent is to get leads to a solid bullpen as quickly as possible. With more quality arms, Banister can spread out the "high-leverage" situations.

Kela will get his chances. He proved his worthiness last season, jumping from Double-A to a key role in a division-winning bullpen.

"It may have been far-fetched, because I didn't understand the game I was getting into in the majors," Kela said. "But I always believed I was going to go out there and excel. I've always had that mentality.

"If they gave me a jersey, they gave me an opportunity to be one of the [main] guys."

Twitter: @gfraley

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Rangers caravan

The Rangers caravan will make stops on Saturday at the Academy Sports + Outdoors in Waco (10:30 a.m.) and Waxahachie (1:30 p.m.) Reliever Sam Freeman, outfielder Justin Ruggiano and broadcaster Eric Nadel will participate in autograph sessions.