Arrieta progressing nicely after surgery

Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta said at FanFest that he continues to make very good progress after having bone spurs removed from his right elbow on Aug. 12. "I felt as good as I expected to. I haven't had any setbacks, just routine throwing program soreness but outside of that I've been 100 percent healthy and very encouraged with my progress," he said. Arrieta, who went 10-8 with an ERA of 5.05 in 22 starts last summer, said the bone spurs would bother him at times last season. He said he felt this season could be a lot different now that the procedure has been completed.

"Having a ping pong ball-sized bone spur taken out of my elbow is going to relieve a lot of pain and stress that was put on my elbow," Arrieta said. "Last year, I would be all right most of the time when the game started, but sometimes after the first inning I would really tighten up and the elbow would swell. I'd go out for the second and be a completely different pitcher. "Now, just really looking forward to starting and finishing the season 100 percent healthy. Just mentally knowing that it is not in my elbow anymore, I'll be a lot better for it." Arrieta could have had the spur removed the year before, but elected not to have the procedure then. "I went about it the right way. Personally, I wanted to avoid surgery if possible. But it got to the point where I couldn't get through a five-inning start without being in extreme pain. We came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to get any better. This has put me in line to be 100 percent when spring starts," he said.