Mike Wright updates his status, talks about stay on the DL

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said right-hander Mike Wright got a cortisone injection yesterday. He was put on the 10-day DL on Friday with right shoulder bursitis, retroactive to Thursday. Wright is eligible to return on June 25, but it will probably be longer than that before he is back on the active roster.

In six games with the Orioles, Wright is 0-0 with a 5.56 ERA. Over 11 1/3 innings he allowed 11 hits and seven runs with one walk and 14 strikeouts.

Wright pitched two scoreless innings Wednesday night in Chicago, throwing 27 pitches. But he reported that his shoulder was sore after that game. That led to him being examined by team orthopedist Michael Jacobs on Friday and the move to the DL.

Wright told reporters today he felt some discomfort even before Wednesday.

"Pretty much after I went back-to-back the first time I came up here (May 31 and June 1) I was a little sore. Luckily they gave me a little bit of a break - one day here, two days there. But that last time I had three days off and the one pitch to (José) Abreu, a 3-2 slider, I kind of felt a little bit worse than I had been," he said.

With Triple-A Norfolk, Wright pitched 10 times and started each of those games, throwing 53 2/3 innings, never going past 105 pitches. He went 3-4 with a 4.19 ERA for the Tides. So maybe it will take some adjusting for him and his arm to get used to more activity with a bullpen role after being a starter for so much through his pro career.

"It is not just always what I want and what rest I need," Wright said of adapting to a 'pen schedule. "The team needs somebody that can pitch. It's just been a little adjustment and hopefully when I come back I get used to it."

Showalter said in Chicago that Wright had managed this issue this season and last.

"He's had treatment on it off and on during the year," Showalter said Thursday. "He had it last year and treated it. Lot of guys treat elbow, shoulder, back. But nothing that kept him from pitching."

Wright said: "The thing is, when you start, obviously you're going to be sore the next day and maybe the second day you'll be sore. But you have four days to recover, so I was always 100 percent by my starts."

Now he will look for positive results from the injection. Wright had shown signs of progress in the bullpen role and looks to get back to that when he returns to the active roster.