JUPITER, Fla. • The Cardinals' bullpen is well populated in lefthanded relievers with Andrew Miller, Brett Cecil, Chasen Shreve and Tyler Webb on the roster and Austin Gomber as a possibility, too. But a longshot has taken his first step back from offseason elbow surgery.

One-time Cardinal Rick Ankiel, who announced last summer he wanted to try to come back as a reliever after being a starter, briefly a reliever and then a big-league outfielder for the Cardinals and several other clubs, played catch for the first time on Tuesday after his late October surgery. He still intends to pitch this year and is hopeful of doing so by June.

Asked if he would pitch ahead of his 40th birthday, in July, Ankiel said, “You guys just gave me a goal.

“It’s about getting through the rehab process ... and we’ll see where it goes,” said Ankiel, who lives here year-round.

Ankiel’s elbow surgery was similar to that of former Cardinal Seth Maness — whereby a pitcher does not miss an entire season.

Ankiel is content to call it “Seth Maness” surgery. “It’s not as sexy as Tommy John,” he joked. “But it will be sexier if it works.”