SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are holding their first minicamp meeting after opening the clubhouse to the media at 9 a.m. Players will take the field later this morning.
Chris Tillman,and Zach Britton are here, sporting full beards. Miguel Gonzalez is at the Ed Smith Stadium complex and also bearded. Henry Urrutia also reported despite not being included on the roster.
The health updates are positive on young pitchers Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy.
Harvey said he's been throwing for the last 1 1/2 months, including three bullpen sessions. His elbow is "100 percent" after the Orioles shut him down in the fall instructional league with a strained flexor mass.
Bundy has been throwing from 150 feet after the Orioles shut him down in the Arizona Fall League with right forearm tightness. He made only eight starts at Double-A Bowie due to inflammation caused by a calcium buildup behind his right shoulder.
Harvey, 21, is confident that he's avoided surgery.
"I'm pretty good so far," said Harvey, the 22nd overall pick in the 2013 draft. "Feeling healthy. Haven't had any problems."
Harvey is due for a good stretch of luck and health. He sustained a fractured fibula in March after being hit by a ball in Fort Myers. The strain flexor mass followed, which prevented Harvey from pitching last summer. He had the same ailment in July 2014.
"It was a rough year in spring training, getting hit, then just kind of snowballing after that. It happens, but it was a tough year," Harvey said.
"We're confident none of that's going to happen now. I'm really healthy, haven't had any pain, nothing. I'm feeling 100 percent."
Harvey said Dr. James Andrews hasn't examined his elbow since September.
"I think I just came back too fast off the (shin) injury, trying to push it too hard too quick and it just didn't hold up," Harvey said. "It feels fine now. Hopefully, it'll stay that way.
"When I came back for instructs and it started hurting again, (surgery) was in my mind. I was kind of worried, but when I went back down there and saw (Andrews), he said everything was going to be fine with more rest. That was a huge relief. I was just trying to stay out from surgery and not have to have that. That was really good hearing that."
Harvey, who may throw lightly off the mound Tuesday morning, also found comfort in his father's past experiences. Former major league closer Bryan Harvey has experienced his own injuries.
"He had four elbow surgeries," Harvey said. "He had Tommy John once, so having him has been a help through this process."
Bundy, 23, said he'll probably throw 15 fastballs off the flat mound this week and progress to a regular mound the following week.
"So far, so good," he said. "I've still got a month until spring training. I'm excited going into it for sure.
"The forearm wasn't a big deal, even in Arizona. We were just being cautious with it."
Bundy is out of minor league options and could break camp as a reliever. He made two major league appearances, both out of the bullpen, in 2012 before undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow.
"I expect if I make that team, that's where I'll be is the bullpen because of my innings lately," Bundy said. "The past couple years, I haven't thrown many innings, so I can't really be a 200 innings starter. So yeah, being in the bullpen anywhere in the big leagues, I'll take any position and I'll be fine."
Bundy threw 41 1/3 innings in 2014 and 22 last year. He isn't aware of a specific limit this season.
"I know it's not a starter number of innings," he said. "I'm sure it's anywhere from 40 to 70, something like that. That's their thing, not mine."
Bundy eventually wants to be a starter again, but he knows it's going to be a process.
"Just kind of depends what happens the next year," he said, "and the next two or three years."
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