FORT MYERS — To say goodbye to his mother, Beverly — and to hear her say goodbye back — made this year’s departure for spring training a special moment for Mike Olt.

A February signing by the Red Sox, the onetime top prospect who has played 135 games over portions of three injury-marred major league seasons reported to spring training at JetBlue Park last week hoping to make a comeback that doesn’t compare in difficulty to the one made by his mother the 12 months.

Last offseason, his mother suffered a brain aneurysm, the ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain that can be life-threatening.

“She had a very slim chance of making it for a long time,” said Olt, 28, a former UConn standout and first-round draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 2010. “It was a constant battle. It brought our family a lot closer. Everyone had to come together to stay strong.”

Watching his mom lose her ability to speak, among other symptoms, left Olt wondering how he had let himself become so overwhelmed by his own comeback attempt.

For the first few years of his professional career, Olt had it easy. After hitting .318 with an 1.060 OPS and 23 homers in 64 games his junior year, the sweet-swinging third baseman dove into the Rangers organization, where he tore apart minor league pitching for three seasons, culminating with a 2012 Triple-A season in which he hit 28 homers with a .977 OPS. He made his big league debut that August, playing in 16 games.

But in the offseason, Olt was hit in the head by a pitch during winter ball in the Dominican Republic.

“I really never felt comfortable again for another two years,” he said Friday. “It was frustrating. . . . And we really kept focusing on my eyes, thinking my eyes were messed up.”

Olt had hoped to win a spot on the Rangers roster out of spring training in 2013, but his hitting suffered greatly as he tried batting with blurry vision. He hit just .213 in Triple-A before the Rangers traded him to the Cubs as part of the deal that sent Matt Garza to Texas.

“It turns out it had nothing to do with my eyes,” Olt said. “It more had to do with the concussion side effects. I talked to a lot of people and all their answers were, it took me two years to get back after a concussion. And it really did take me pretty much two full years.”

The Cubs gave Olt a chance in 2014, when he hit 12 homers in 89 games, but his .160 average and 100 strikeouts in 258 plate appearances left him feeling disappointed.

When Joe Maddon became Cubs manager in 2015, Olt earned a share of the starting gig at third base, but he broke his wrist that April, paving way for the Cubs next third baseman, Kris Bryant.

“When I first got drafted, it kind of came a little too easy,” Olt said. “It was a real smooth path to the big leagues. Not that I took that for granted, but then some injuries happened. Until I figured out really how to handle adversity like that, it was going to take me awhile to get through it.”

Olt has bounced from the Cubs to the White Sox to the Padres in the last two years, failing to catch on. But when the Red Sox caught wind that the Connecticut native was going to take some swings in Massachusetts in January, the team’s Northeast regional scout, Ray Fagnant, was excited.

“I remember seeing him in high school, in Legion (ball), following him to UConn,” Fagnant said. “I liked him a lot. We all did. The nature of the draft, we just didn’t get him.”

Fagnant hadn’t seen much of Olt the past few years. Besides the concussion, Olt also has suffered a broken collarbone, a broken wrist and plantar fasciitis. But Fagnant wasn’t sure of the specifics of Olt’s injury history. He decided not to ask him until after the workout.

“He moved around very well,” Fagnant said. “I said, ‘Mike, you’re moving as well as I’ve ever seen you. What was the most recent injury?’ Because I wanted to go in unbiased. He told me about the foot issue. I would have never guessed that. He did a really good job that day. He looked completely healthy. And he’s always been a workout fanatic.”

Olt is slated to begin the year in the minors. Without much depth at third base — Pablo Sandoval is likely to win the starting job, but the Red Sox have no sure thing behind him — there’s always the chance that Olt could push himself into position for a major league call-up at some point this season.

The Red Sox believe he has a plus-arm capable of handling the tasks at third, and they’re also considering using him in left field.

Said Fagnant: “There is still upside where he can still be in the big leagues one day. He’s always had bat speed. I’m happy we signed him.”

Olt is hopeful, but not too worried about where he plays. His mom’s battle has taught him to relax.

“It was just amazing to sit back and see her fighting that battle when I’m stressing out about little things,” he said. “It just didn’t make any sense. It made me have fun again, just enjoy every moment I have. She’s doing really well. Last offseason, I left and she still wasn’t talking. This year, she’s doing everything. She remembers everything. All the stuff the doctors said she wouldn’t be able to do, she’s been able to do. So it’s a really cool comeback for her. She can’t wait to get into the (grand)stands. It’ll be great for her.”

Beverly gave her son a hug and said goodbye to him out the door of his Branford, Conn., home last week.

Now it’s his turn to make a comeback.