Chris Tillman threw off a pitching rubber on the flat mound Wednesday, will progress to a half-mound Friday and a full mound Sunday if all goes well. He’s right on schedule to join the rotation in mid-March.
Though Tillman has said that his rehabilitation schedule will be written “in pencil” later this month, manager Buck Showalter made it clear that the Orioles ace is not going to move up to pitch on Opening Day. He views the projected time of Tillman’s return as the best-case scenario.
Hunter Harvey’s future
Pitching prospect Hunter Harvey, who continues to rehab his reconstructed right elbow after Tommy John surgery and began throwing in December, should be ready to pitch competitively at about midseason if all goes according to plan.
Showalter sees some parallels between the road both Harvey and Dylan Bundy have traveled since they each were taken in the first round of the June draft — Bundy in 2011 and Harvey in 2013.
“If he follows suit, he’s pitching in July in a competitive game somewhere,” Showalter said. “He and Dylan got a lot of similarities in their background, even the age when they had it, the time frame, when the actual surgery took place. There are a lot of similarities, but you don’t say, ‘OK, they’re exactly the same.’ They’re two different guys. Harvey’s rehab is going real well over there. They had to really keep the reins on him.”
O’s face decision on Nuno
Turns out the Mexican team in the World Baseball Classic would like to use newly acquired left-hander Vidal Nuno as a possible starting pitcher in the first round, something that is problematic for the Orioles.
That would require Nuno to be ready to throw 65 pitches, which is the pitch limit for WBC starters. He has pitched just once so far in an exhibition game and faced seven batters.
“We thought that might be coming, so we’re taking that under consideration,” Showalter said. “It’s a pitch count, not an inning [limit], but unfortunately it’s 65 pitches and he could throw five innings and I don’t know if I want him to have that many ups this early in the spring.
Pitchers and catchers reported for duty on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. The Orioles begin the 2017 season at home against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 3.
“In fairness to him, we’re going to talk to him, but we’re going to try to do what’s best for the Orioles. I don’t want him to come back here and have an issue.”
Around the horn
The Orioles had a moment of silence before Wednesday’s game to mark the passing of longtime Norfolk Tides executive and broadcaster Dave Rosenfield, who died Tuesday at age 87. … Brad Brach made his first appearance of the spring in Wednesday’s game, throwing a scoreless inning.
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