ALTOONA — Left-handed pitcher Anthony Solometo has spent parts of the past three seasons with Altoona and is embarking on his fourth year with the team.

To get to this point, it’s been a ride similar to the roller coaster beyond the right field at Peoples Natural Gas Field. There have been many twists and turns, injuries and struggles, but now it’s a new year and Solometo is ready to pick up where he left off prior to a shoulder injury in 2025.

“It feels glorious, amazing and any other synonyms I could think of, I’d probably say right now, but it’s just so nice to be back out here,” Solometo said at the Curve’s annual media day Tuesday. “It’s so nice to be in a uniform, everything just, it’s great. It’s amazing vibes.”

Solometo appeared in three games last year before a left shoulder injury ended his season abruptly. Prior to his injury, he had a 0.90 ERA in two starts with Altoona and looked similar to his 2023 self that saw him climb from High A Greensboro to Altoona after posting a 2.30 ERA in 12 starts with the Grasshoppers.

“It’s been a lot of uncontrollable things that have happened, and it definitely taught me a lot of different ways to handle adversity and how to push through it all,” Solometo said. “There’s been times where I came in here and I felt like I was on top of the world when I first came halfway through the season, 2023 to flash a year forward to 2024 where I was sitting in the stalls, wondering what am I doing?”

That up and down performance was far from ideal for Solometo, but it did turn into a learning experience for which he is grateful.

“I learned how to handle adversity a lot better,” Solometo said. “I learned how to just handle each day, how to not ride the roller coaster as much, because that’s a big thing and one of the hardest things that they should tell you when you get drafted is you got to learn how to conquer the roller coaster.”

Whether the roller coaster has been conquered fully remains to be seen, but the expectations are still high for Solometo, whom the Pittsburgh Pirates selected 37th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft.

Curve manager Andy Fox is thrilled Solometo is back on the field and healthy.

“I think the good thing is he’s healthy right now,” Fox said. “I know for a fact he worked his tail off to get back to where he is. And him being healthy is huge, just so he can show what he can do.”

Solometo isn’t sure whether he’ll be deployed as a starter or out of the bullpen, but that’s not really important to him.

“All that matters is just getting the ball and dominating the zone,” Solometo said. “I went a year, year and a half almost, of not being able to play baseball on the field, and I’ve just missed that feeling. I just miss getting guys out and having it mean something. I’m just excited to play the game again.”

Solometo and the Curve start their season Thursday against Harrisburg at 6 p.m.