Showalter on Matusz: "I think he'll rejoin us here before long"

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are waiting for the results of X-rays taken on reliever T.J. McFarland's left elbow. They're hopeful that he's dealing with a minor muscle issue instead of anything related to a ligament.

Reliever Brian Matusz played catch yesterday and didn't report any discomfort in his lower back.

"He's coming along," said manager Buck Showalter. "I think he's going to be sooner than later. I think he'll rejoin us here before long. They were talking today about how good a day he had yesterday. I think he kind of turned the corner with that a little bit."

Minor league shortstop Ozzie Martinez is being checked for a concussion after yesterday's violent collision with second baseman Garabez Rosa. The Orioles believe he has whiplash, but will do the concussion protocol.

"He won't be active until we get all that taken care of, so that could be some time," Showalter said.

"He's pretty sore, his neck today. And Rosa actually is sore in his shoulder today, so we won't see either one of them for a while."

Chris Tillman and Kevin Gausman remain scheduled to pitch in Thursday's 10 a.m. B game against the Pirates on the Camden Yards replica field. The game will run five or six innings, according to Showalter.

Tyler Wilson starts against the Yankees in the Grapefruit League game at Ed Smith Stadium. Bryan Mitchell starts for New York.

The Orioles are disappointed that they couldn't sign outfielder Austin Jackson. It appears that there was more money for Jackson in Baltimore (and Anaheim, too, according to reports), but he wanted to play center field and signed with the White Sox for $5 million.

There's a lot of that going around these days.

If you want to play center field, the Windy City is your destination.