Tillman set to throw again
Orioles ace will resume rehab program for shoulder with long toss Wednesday
TAMPA, FLA. — Orioles right-hander
who received a cortisone injection to quell the nagging discomfort in his throwing shoulder, is scheduled to resume throwing Wednesday with a longtoss session.
The club hopes the injection provides Tillman the ability to pitch throughout this season, but when he will be able to return to the club’s rotation is still unclear.
Tillman, who has provided the Orioles with an average of 14 wins, 32 starts an 190 innings per year over the past four seasons, will certainly not be ready for Opening Day, and manager said Tillman won’t likely get into a game before the team breaks camp in two weeks.
“It’s frustrating for him, especially when you’re talking about a guy who’s been an Opening Day starter for us,” Showalter said. “He knows what he means to the club. But never have I had a feeling that anything’s crept in there as far as his status at the end of the season. It’s really never been in his mindset.
“You look at him and it’s all about getting [back]. … We feel comfortable with that. It’s just that we take the right steps that [allow him] to take the ball in May through the end of the season, whenever that may be.”
Those steps begin with Tillman throwing a long-toss session Wednesday and then another one Friday. After that, Showalter said the team thinks Tillman can pick up where he ended his progression, when he threw his third full-mound bullpen session after 10 throws last Sunday.
“If that goes well, we’ve got it mapped out all the way through April if he goes well,” Showalter said. “But he could have one day that could change all that. If the first one goes bad, [who knows?] It’s just a little push. We need to get an idea of what we’re dealing with. We feel good about it structurally.”
Because the Orioles have three days off in the first eight days of the regular season, they don’t need a fifth starter until April 15, and one of the focuses of camp in recent days has been evaluating candidates who can fill Tillman’s rotation spot while he’s out. Among those in the mix are right-handers and and and lefties
“We’ll have a meeting on [Wednesday] to get some of those ideas that everybody has,” Showalter said. “There are different scenarios, but I’ve been planning since Chris had some trouble last time out. … I wasn’t counting on him anyway, so all of my plans have been without him there for April since last time. With all the off days, there’s some maneuverability there.”
Tillman received a platelet-rich-plasma injection in December when he felt lingering shoulder discomfort similar to what sent him to the disabled list in August.
He was brought along methodically and was progressing until the premature scrapping of his third bullpen session. There was some concern whether the soreness was a side effect of an antibiotic Tillman took. But after a few days, the decision was made to get an injection to ease the discomfort. Santander improving: Tests performed on outfielder sore right elbow revealed only inflammation, and the Orioles’ Rule 5 draft pick could return to games as soon as Monday.
An MRI-arthrogram, in which a dye is injected to reveal a clearer picture, was done Thursday and came back promising, Santander said Saturday morning.
“I feel much better today,” Santander said through interpreter
The switch-hitting Santander, 22, had a slow start to this spring, striking out in 10 of his first 22 plate appearances. But he then homered in back-to-back games last Saturday and Sunday. He is 7-for-28 (.250) with two homers and a team-high seven RBIs overall this spring. Santander hasn’t played since Tuesday. Since he’s coming off offseason shoulder surgery, he has yet to play the outfield. That’s something Showalter said he hopes Santander will do beginning this week as the Orioles try to figure out whether they can carry him on the 25-man roster. Around the horn: Showalter said outfielder
(hamstring) should return to game action early next week . ... Utility man
who received a cortisone shot for a sore shoulder, could return to Grapefruit League games as soon as Monday.