Castillo: "I think this weekend would be good"

WASHINGTON - Catcher Welington Castillo anticipates that the Orioles will activate him from the disabled list over the weekend, only a few days past the date that he became eligible.

Castillo technically could come off the DL for Thursday's series finale against the Nationals, but the Orioles want him to continue with his throwing progression and make certain that the discomfort doesn't return to his right shoulder.

Castillo threw yesterday for the first time since the Orioles put him on the DL and seleced Francisco Peña's contract from Triple-A Norfolk.

"Great. It felt good. I'm happy for that," he said.

"I'll play catch again tomorrow, day off the next day, and then Saturday I'm going to throw to the base and see if everything goes fine."

The Orioles could activate him later in the day while continuing their series in Kansas City.

"I think so," he said. "If everything goes fine and my arm doesn't bother me, I think this weekend would be good."

Castillo leads the Orioles in batting with a .314 average, three points ahead of Seth Smith. He also has a .330 on-base percentage and ranks second behind Jonathan Schoop with six doubles. He's also thrown out 5 of 14 runners attempting to steal in his first season as Matt Wieters' replacement.

Sitting out games doesn't sit well with him.

"It's hard," he said. "It's hard because I have a lot of passion for the game. Honestly, I hate watching games. I want to be there. I want to be supporting my team, but at the same time I know that I'm not 100 percent. I'm still a little sore. I'm just expecting that ... everything is going fine. I'm going to be supporting my team on the field, too. I can't wait until everything goes fine and I'm in the lineup."

Castillo said that, if it were up to him, we won't be seeing his name on a minor league lineup card.

"I don't need a rehab assignment," he said. "I'm going to go out and catch a 'pen. I'm going to go out today. I might jump in the 'pen with my bat and do some tracking.

"I don't think a rehab assignment will be (needed) for me. I think I'm going to be fine."

In case you missed the update earlier, the Orioles recalled left-hander Vidal Nuño from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned Logan Verrett to the Tides. They needed a fresh arm, and Nuño gives them a second left-hander to pair with Donnie Hart.