Kyle Bradish/John Means, Orioles: Waiting game

Remember these two guys? The Baltimore Orioles startled the industry on the first day of camp when they announced both starters were suffering from elbow maladies. Five weeks later, it’s mostly so far, so good.

Means has already faced hitters in live batting practice and is expected to stretch that to two innings of work in his next session this week. While it’s not certain the lefty will get into a Grapefruit League game, Means is on course to stretch out further in Sarasota and perhaps be ready for an April return.

Bradish, too, is progressing, but the immediate future remains uncertain. He was diagnosed in January with a sprain in the ulnar collateral ligament and underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection. He progressed well enough to throw his first bullpen session last week.

But every such session is merely a tentative step over a hurdle in a very deliberate ramp-up, with the best-case scenario that Bradish avoids Tommy John surgery. The Orioles will take a months-long absence in exchange for that.

Marlins pitchers: Infirm

Turns out reigning Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara’s Tommy John surgery last fall was just the start of the Marlins’ pitching woes.

Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett have been shelved with a shoulder impingement and shoulder soreness, respectively. And most concerning: Eury Perez was shut down with elbow soreness and is scheduled to undergo an MRI and travel to Texas for an exam with noted orthopedist Keith Meister.

All are unlikely to be available by Opening Day, and Perez’s plight will create frayed nerves in South Florida. The club treated him carefully last season, limiting him to 15 starts and 91 big league innings even as they badly needed pitching to lock down a wild-card berth. He struck out 10.6 batters per nine innings with a 3.15 ERA.

Justin Verlander, Astros: Shoulder

Talk about your moving parts. Justin Verlander showed up to camp with a sore shoulder that kept him off the mound for a month, even as the 41year-old expressed confidence it wasn’t a major issue.

He’s kept his word: Verlander threw his first bullpen session on March 14 and should graduate to facing live hitters later this week. He’s certainly ticketed for the IL to start the season, but his progression bears watching.

With Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers already out and the Astros still in a win-now stance, any Verlander hiccups might create more groundswell to augment the rotation from outside.