Bradish: "No pain, no soreness when I'm throwing"

SARASOTA, Fla. – Kyle Bradish will extend his flat-ground throwing to 90 feet on Saturday in the latest tweak to his progression.

Bradish played catch Tuesday from 75 feet in the stadium outfield, with media in the press box trying to calculate the distance, and hasn’t experienced any discomfort in his right elbow.

“I feel good,” he said this morning. “No pain, no soreness when I’m throwing. Recovery has been good. So yeah, feeling pretty normal.”

Exactly what the Orioles want to hear, even a week into spring training.

Bradish became one of the bigger camp stories after his platelet-rich plasma injection last month and confirmation from executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias that last year’s Game 1 starter in the Division Series would go on the injured list.

“Everything is positive,” Bradish said.

Manager Brandon Hyde pretty much said the same earlier this week.

“Everything’s going well,” he said. “Progressing nicely, and he’s feeling good after he’s playing catch.”

Saturday’s session would be Bradish’s fifth if he’s throwing every other day. His first tosses came on Feb. 16 from close range on the Camden Yards replica field.

The Orioles have avoided injuries through the first eight days of camp. They still need to get through today’s workout to make it nine.

They already knew about Bradish, Gunnar Henderson (oblique) and Samuel Basallo (elbow) before pitchers and catchers reported, and how John Means was a month behind the other starters and likely would go on the injured list.

“It’s gone well,” Hyde said. “That’s where we’re really keeping our fingers crossed. It’s one of the things that makes you nervous a little bit, and then games start. You just want to finish camp as healthy as possible. But right now, I think it’s gone pretty well.”

* Hyde said many of his regulars will be in Saturday’s lineup for the exhibition opener against the Red Sox in Sarasota.

“They’ll be playing kind of every other day,” Hyde said.

Split-squad games will be held Monday, much earlier than Hyde’s preference. The Orioles host the Rays and travel to North Port to play the Braves.

* The Orioles revealed today in a news release that, according to the Sarasota County Government’s annual economic report, they generated more than $72 million in economic impact and created more than 970 jobs in Sarasota County during the most recent reporting period, which took place from July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023.

The report also found that the organization generated more than $86 million in economic impact in the state of Florida, while also creating more than 1,000 jobs.

The Orioles have generated nearly $584.5 million for the local Sarasota County economy since 2015 and more than $686 million for the state of Florida.