Wieters on elbow: "Nothing too bad, but definitely a little sore"

SARASOTA, Fla. - Catcher Matt Wieters said this morning that his right elbow is "a little stiff, a little sore" and he can't give a timetable on his return to the lineup.

Wieters was removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the first inning of yesterday's game against the Twins due to discomfort in the elbow. He had X-rays that came back normal.

"Nothing too bad, but definitely a little sore from yesterday. Get some treatment on it today and take it day by day," he said after today's workout at the Ed Smith Stadium complex.

"All the tests that I've been put through have been pretty normal, so it's just a matter of kind of letting the soreness and stiffness go away and then get back the strength and go from there."

Wieters felt it after making a high throw to second base on a stolen base attempt.

"I made a throw, felt pretty normal coming out and then after the throw, it tightened up on me, and it stayed tight as I was throwing the ball back to the pitcher," he said. "We thought it was best to shut it down at that point and come in and get all the symptoms cleared up and get back to playing, whenever that is."

No MRI has been set up at this point.

"We might do one in a few days, but it's something where an MRI with an already surgically repaired elbow is going to show different things," he said. "It was clean with the X-ray, which was good news."

Any level of discomfort in the elbow is alarming after Wieters underwent ligament-reconstructive surgery in June 2014. He was shut down last spring with elbow tendinitis after catching one exhibition game and didn't make his 2015 debut until June 5 in Cleveland.

Wieters appeared in five games this spring, going 2-for-12, and had no issues with the elbow until yesterday.

"It's frustrating just because all the surgery and all the rehab that you go through, you want it to feel 100 percent all the time," he said. "But it's something to where I think yesterday I was more frustrated than anything else. Today, it's kind of accepting it knowing we'll keep working and making it stronger. God has a plan for us all and we'll keep getting it stronger and move forward."

It's much too early to project Wieters' availability for the April 4 opener against the Twins at Camden Yards.

"It's all about getting all the symptoms out of there, which, from talking with everybody and Richie (Bancells), we feel like we should be able to get on top of the symptoms and get them out of there and go from there," Wieters said.

Wieters, a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, batted .267/.319/.422 last season with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 25 RBIs in 75 games. He accepted the $15.8 million qualifying offer rather than test free agency.

Note: Yovani Gallardo starts for the Orioles on Monday against the Phillies' Alec Asher in Sarasota. Chris Tillman starts Tuesday against the Blue Jays' Jesse Chavez in Dunedin, and Kevin Gausman starts Wednesday against the Pirates' Juan Nicasio in Sarasota.