On the same day that Matt Wieters resumed throwing, the Orioles have another health concern with just two weeks remaining until Opening Day.
Manager Buck Showalter told reporters in Sarasota that starting pitcher Kevin Gausman received a cortisone injection for tendinitis in his right shoulder on Sunday morning. The right-hander had been scheduled to make a minor-league start on Monday, but he won’t pick up a baseball for at least a couple days.
“I don’t know if it’s a big concern,” Showalter said. “He’s had some inflammation in there, and we just want to get rid of that. We feel good about it structurally, [but it] hasn’t managed to go away completely. When we have some time here, try and clear it up before we break camp. Hopefully, that’s all it is. See where we are in two or three days.”
Gausman spent time on the disabled list last year with a similar issue.
With plenty of uncertainty in the starting rotation entering 2016, the Orioles are counting on the 25-year-old to take a major step forward in his first full season as a starter. The 2012 first-round pick pitched to a 4.22 ERA in his 17 starts last season and posted a 3.57 ERA in 20 starts in 2014.
In two Grapefruit League starts this spring, Gausman has allowed three earned runs, five hits, one home run, and a walk while striking out six in six innings.
Wieters took batting practice once again on Sunday and made 25 throws from up to 60 feet. The veteran catcher hadn’t thrown since leaving a game on March 12 due to right elbow soreness.
It remains unclear whether Wieters will be ready for Opening Day, but a magnetic resonance imaging exam last week revealed no structural concerns in his surgically-repaired elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery 21 months ago.
