Matt Lindstrom updates his status

Orioles reliever Matt Lindstrom is eligible to come off the disabled list this Saturday but it could take a little longer than that for his return. Lindstrom has a partial tear in a ligament in the middle finger on his right hand and provided reporters with an update this afternoon. "The latest is that my finger is pain-free," Lindstrom said. "The biggest thing they told me is I need to be careful to let that ligament heal a bit better. Kind of a waiting period right now. I've been doing my workouts and just waiting a bit. I am looking forward to throwing this week. I'll probably do that in the next couple of days." Lindstrom said he expects to throw soon here at Camden Yards but that he may head to Sarasota for continued rehab and to get in some extended spring training games after that. "I will probably go there eventually to get some outings in. The good thing about this is I should be able to ramp it up pretty fast," he said. "I'm not sure (how many rehab outings I'll need), maybe just a couple to get my command down. I've never had this happen before so it's kind of a wait and see thing." Lindstrom has pitched to an ERA of 1.29 in 14 innings over 13 games. He has an opposing batting average against of .226 and has walked four with 14 strikeouts. He was asked if he could return Saturday when his DL time is up. "I'm not sure. Like I said, I think it's a matter of throwing first to see how it feels. Kind of champing at the bit right now because I don't have any pain in the finger. We are just trying to be careful," Lindstrom said.