Orioles right-hander Brad Bergesen has been throwing pain-free off flat ground for several weeks and hopes to have at least 10 extended mound sessions before spring training starts.

"It's just a normal offseason for me at this point," said Bergesen, who suffered a left shin contusion when he was hit with a line drive by Kansas City's Billy Butler on July 30.

"It took forever just to get that thing back to 100 percent. It is now, but it was pretty frustrating to deal with. It finally feels good not to have to worry about it in the back of your mind. I have been full bore for a long time. It's to the point where it's back to where it was before it ever happened."

Bergesen is convinced he had a small stress fracture that went undetected by multiple CT scans and magnetic resonance imaging tests. The injury ended an impressive rookie season in which he went 7-5 with a 3.43 ERA.

Last year, Bergesen, 24, entered the spring hoping to impress manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz.

"In talking with Kranny and Dave, they've basically told me it's a different year for me," Bergesen said.

"It's not, 'You're coming in for a tryout.' Not that anything is guaranteed, but it's more, 'Make sure you come in healthy.' It's taken out the stress of thinking I might not have a spot. But I'm coming in with the same mentality. I want to kind of re-earn a job this year. I never want to get complacent."