Wieters on elbow: "It's gotten a lot better over the last few days"

HOUSTON - Matt Wieters is set to begin a throwing progression on Friday, when he's scheduled to pick up a ball and do some light tossing for the first time since going on the disabled list. Wieters hasn't caught since May 4 and hasn't played since May 10 due to a right elbow strain. "We've got a whole throwing program, but the trainers know it better than I can. If everything goes well, we're going to pick up a ball tomorrow," Wieters said. "Every movement that gets me back toward getting on the field is good." Wieters still felt some stiffness in the elbow while the team was in Pittsburgh, but it's subsided. "It's gotten a lot better over the last few days, which is what we were waiting on," he said. "Waiting for it all to subside and it's all gotten out. Now, it's just a matter of going through the throwing progression and hopefully everything keeps getting better." Assuming there are no setbacks, the Orioles gradually will increase the number of throws and extend the distance. "I'm sure it won't be anything too stretched out tomorrow," he said. "We always had days sort of around, but we wanted to make sure we were progressing more than anything. Every time you can take the next step forward, it's good. Picking up the ball is our next step forward now." Wieters is batting .308/.339/.500 with five doubles, five homers and 18 RBIs in 26 games. He leads American League catchers in All-Star voting. Wieters served as the designated hitter in four games before going on the disabled list. He's concentrating only on his throwing progression at the moment. Swinging a bat is secondary. "Throwing will be the more important thing to see," he said. "Swings will be a lot easier to catch up on than the throwing will be."