Rehab Assignment

Brian Roberts will begin his rehab assignment Wednesday night at Double-A Bowie against Richmond. The Orioles made the announcement a few minutes ago. Roberts (concussion symptoms) has not played since May 16, 2011, against the Boston Red Sox. He likely will play only a few innings Wednesday. He is expected to speak with reporters at 7 p.m. tonight.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada's recovery from Tommy John surgery is expected to take a significant step forward next week. Wada is slated to make one more start in extended spring training on Friday and after that he will likely be assigned to one of the team's minor-league affiliates to begin a rehab assignment. On Friday, Wada will go between five and seven innings and throw about 80 pitches, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He looks good," Showalter said.

Continuing to progress faster than club officials had anticipated, pitcher Scott Erickson threw in the bullpen again yesterday and is drawing closer to a rehab assignment in the minor leagues. Erickson's right elbow withstood a mound session that lasted about 16 minutes and included some off-speed stuff. It was his fourth time throwing since having arthroscopic surgery on March 3 to remove bone chips. He previously had not gone longer than about 12 minutes. "It was very encouraging," said pitching coach Sammy Ellis.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter's pregame press briefing unearthed one decent sized item and a couple other interesting things. Designated hitter Jim Thome, who has been rehabbing in Sarasota with a herniated disk in his neck, has been experiencing some weakness in his back and may need another epidural shot. He was hoping to be ready in early September. That would be in serious jeopardy if he has to get another shot. "Not a setback, he ... just feels some weakness in his lat (large back muscle)

Heavy rains in the Baltimore area did more than delay last night's game between the Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards. They also kept the commander in chief waiting. Actor Martin Sheen, who portrays President Josiah Bartlet in the popular television series The West Wing, threw out the first pitch for the drama's final episode of the season. His windups - there were four of them - came about 45 minutes late because of the weather. Sheen rehearsed the scene earlier in the day, walking from the dugout to the mound and waving to a fictitious crowd.

CINCINNATI - Orioles center fielder Luis Matos is scheduled to go on an injury rehabilitation assignment Monday, though his destination remains unknown. Matos, who broke his right ring finger on May 10, could join Double-A Bowie in Trenton, N.J., or Triple-A Ottawa in Toledo, Ohio. Single-A Delmarva is the only affiliate that's home early next week. He's expected to receive 20-25 at-bats to regain his timing before retuning to the majors. "The biggest thing for him is to get his arm in shape," manager Lee Mazzilli said.

Astros: Jeff Bagwell has six consecutive 20-homer seasons. Rookie outfielder Richard Hidalgo, out with a separated right shoulder after crashing into the center-field wall at Coors Field May 29, began a rehab assignment at Triple-A New Orleans.Pub Date: 7/12/98

BaseballAngels: Assigned P Robert Ellis to Triple-A Vancouver. Demoted P Jarrod Washburn to Double-A Midland. Recalled C Todd Green from Vancouver. Optioned P Ryan Hancock to Vancouver.Athletics: Activated P Ariel Prieto from DL. Placed P Don Wengert on 15-day DL, retroactive to July 24.Rangers: Sent P Kevin Gross to Triple-A Oklahoma City on rehab assignment.White Sox: Optioned C Robert Machado to Double-A Birmingham.Pub Date: 7/29/96

You can stop worrying. Luis Terrero cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Ottawa. He's still in the organization. The Orioles are trying to decide what to do with Brian Roberts. It sounds like he'll either be activated today or sent to Double-A Bowie on an injury rehab assignment. Roberts hit in the cage, ran some sprints on the base paths and fielded ground balls last night. A rehab assignment would allow the Orioles to make sure he's completely healthy. If there's a setback, he stays on the disabled list instead of being lost for another 15 days or more.

Hot corner Quote: "You can make as big a deal out of run support as you want, but you've got to pitch and win close games." -- Curt Schilling of the Phillies after losing, 6-3, to the Reds.It's a fact: All three Pirates batters in the fifth were retired on foul popups to Giants first baseman J.T. Snow.Who's hot: Jeff Shaw has retired the last 15 batters he's faced and has saves in six of the Reds' nine victories.Who's not: Pirates pitcher Jon Lieber has permitted at least one homer in every start.

The Orioles have planned out the remainder of second baseman Brian Roberts' minor league rehab assignment, and he will complete his assignment with Triple-A Norfolk on the road. "We talked about really wanting to finish up competition-wise in Triple-A," Showalter said. "That's tentative if we don't have any setbacks. "It's also the way the schedule fell. Everyone's on the road. I think at that stage Robby felt he wanted to face the best competition he could. " For position players like Roberts, who hasn't played in a major league game in more than a year and is attempting a comeback from multiple concussions, minor league rehab assignments are limited to 20 days.

Orioles rookie right-handed reliever Stu Pomeranz is likely headed to the disabled list after injuring himself while preparing to enter Sunday's game in the top of the seventh inning. He had thrown seven or eight fastballs in the bullpen, before feeling a searing pain in his left side while throwing his first breaking ball. "Something popped up in my ribs," said Pomeranz, who is staying behind in Baltimore to have an MRI at 10 a.m. Monday. The Orioles are initially calling the injury a strained left oblique, and a 15-day disabled list stint is probable, Buck Showalter said.

After more than a year of being out of big league baseball while attempting to rise above concussion symptoms, second baseman Brian Roberts is back in the game. He started his rehab assignment Wednesday in Double-A Bowie. The clock now starts ticking. He has 20 days to be activated by the big league club, though the team can halt the clock if he suffers a relapse or another injury. Otherwise, they would have to waive him, and the Orioles won't do that with their most veteran player and $10 million man. So the next three weeks are going to be interesting.

Brian Roberts will begin his rehab assignment Wednesday night at Double-A Bowie against Richmond. The Orioles made the announcement a few minutes ago. Roberts (concussion symptoms) has not played since May 16, 2011, against the Boston Red Sox. He likely will play only a few innings Wednesday. He is expected to speak with reporters at 7 p.m. tonight.

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts knew the significance of Wednesday's date. It marked the one-year anniversary of Roberts' last game, when his headfirst slide at Fenway Park triggered a second wave of concussion symptoms May 16, 2011. Roberts said Wednesday that he has thought about the date - and about being out of the game for a full year - but that it helps that he feels closer than ever to a return. Roberts, who averaged 152 games a year from 2004 through 2009, has played in just 98 games since the beginning of the 2010 season.

Orioles leftfielder Nolan Reimold will go on a minor-league rehab before rejoining the team from the disabled list, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Sunday. Reimold, who has a herniated disk in his neck, hasn't played since Monday, and Showalter said he'd like for Reimold to get some at bats before returning. “I expect him to without a doubt,” Showalter said. “I'm hoping that somewhere near the end of the DL period, which would be the 14 th , something around there, he gets some at bats.

Tsuyoshi Wada, who was on the disabled list attempting to rebound from some left elbow soreness which limited his spring, has had his rehab assignment shut down. He will return to Baltimore to meet with doctors and there is no timetable for his return to a game. Wada allowed six runs in 2 2/3 innings Thursday in his first rehab game for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. Afterward he admitted he had been dealing with neck stiffness after sleeping poorly at a hotel. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he wasn't sure if the neck problem was associated with the poor outing, but that the club was considering suspending Wada's rehab assignment.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Catcher Ramon Hernandez rejoined his teammates at Tropicana Field yesterday and got through batting practice with no setbacks to his strained left oblique muscle. However, it appears he'll return to the Orioles' lineup Friday at the earliest. "I'm guessing the same thing," Hernandez said when asked if he thinks Friday is the most realistic day for his activation from the disabled list and his season debut. "I think I'm almost ready. I've been doing everything, for the most part - throwing, running, playing catch, catching bullpens, and it doesn't bother me for that.