Chris Davis said earlier today that his left hip is feeling better and he should be able to play when he's eligible to return from the 10-day injured list.
The Orioles put Davis on the IL retroactive to Saturday with left hip inflammation. He doesn't anticipate needing a rehab assignment in the minors, though he hasn't received an at-bat since going 0-for-3 Thursday with three strikeouts and a walk.
"I feel pretty good," Davis said. "I'm actually about to start moving around and doing some of the rehab or maintenance upkeep, some of the work I've been doing over the last couple of weeks. Just working range of motion, mobility, but I feel pretty good."
Asked about a timetable for his return, Davis said, "Ten days."
"I don't feel like it's going to be a long, drawn out thing," he said. "Take advantage of these next however many days I have left and be ready to go when we go to Texas."
Davis said the hip discomfort surfaced several weeks ago, describing it as "kind of nagging."
"Something that I figured was just general fatigue or soreness and just never really got any better," he said. "Kind of sucks, but that's part of getting older. I think the positive thing for me moving forward is we actually have things that we can do to help alleviate some of the pain and things that we can do to stay on top of it. So at least there's something we can do and we're not just sitting on our hands."
Davis is 5-for-41 with 25 strikeouts since May 10. His average threatened to climb above .199 for the first time since 2017, but it's back down to .171 with a .575 OPS.
He reached a point where he no longer could push through the soreness and the club was alerted to the issue.
"It was something that was kind of on their radar, I'd say, for at least a week or so and like I said, it's hard to tell whether it's just a little bit of fatigue, getting into the middle of the season now, getting into kind of the meat of the schedule, the weather's starting to warm up a little bit," Davis said.
"It's just kind of taking a toll on everybody, but I would say the last week to 10 days, just kind of knowing there's been some discomfort and saw an opportunity to maybe do a little bit of a blow and try to get on top of it before it gets out of hand.
Davis claimed that the injury isn't the same as the one that sidelined him in spring training.
"Spring training was a hip flexor," he said. "This is more on the side of the hip, more in the joint. The hip flexor strain, I think, was just a result of the home game against Detroit, a little bit cooler and I think that was just a result of the weather and stretching a little too far on a certain play. Not the same, but it's similar."
The Orioles could decide to give Davis some at-bats in the minors, but that's not the current expectation.
"I'm going to do everything I can to continue to hit as often and as frequently as I can," he said. "Obviously, I have to modify the amount of swings that I'm taking, but I don't think it's going to call for a rehab assignment or anything like that."
Manager Brandon Hyde checked with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel earlier today to get an update on Davis. They didn't formulate an exact timetable for his return to the lineup.
"He's feeling better today," Hyde said. "We really haven't put a plan in place yet, so can't really comment on that because I'm not really sure, to be honest with you. The good news is he's feeling better today and hopefully stays on that track.
"I knew it has been bothering him for a few days maybe and trying to play through it. I think it was Friday when we talked about it might be just getting too much. That's when we decided to put him on the IL."
Hyde can't state with any certainly that the hip impacted Davis at the plate and caused the latest downward spiral.
"I know his hip was sore for a few days and he was trying to gut it out, but I don't know if it was affecting his performance at all," Hyde said. "I think we just felt like, and he felt like also, that he just needed a break."
The Orioles recalled outfielder DJ Stewart from Triple-A Norfolk, getting them back to a three-man bench, and a decision is pending on how Davis will fit onto the roster.
"Baseball's a funny game where things tend to work out, so I don't want to look too far ahead, but the good news is he's feeling better today and making progress and we'll re-evaluate our roster situation when he's ready," Hyde said. "But, yeah, I'm not there yet."
Mark Trumbo stopped by the clubhouse this afternoon after starting his rehab assignment last night at Double-A Bowie and going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
"He said he faced a couple pretty good arms. That was good for him to see," Hyde said.
"He feels good. Ran to first a couple times with no pain and feels good today, so sounds like it was positive. Even though he didn't get the results offensively that he was looking for, I think it was all positive last night in Bowie."
Outfielder Yusniel Diaz has come off the injured list at Bowie and the Orioles transferred him to Single-A Frederick to get some at-bats. Diaz hasn't played since April 25 due to a strained hamstring.
Left-hander Travis Seabrooke was released from his contract with Frederick.
Update: Trey Mancini was hit on the left foot with two outs in the first and scored from first base on Renato Núñez's double for a 1-0 lead.
Update II: Nicholas Castellanos doubled in the fourth to score Niko Goodrum and tie the game.
Update III: Keon Broxton hit his first Camden Yards home run in the bottom of the fourth for a 2-1 lead.
Update IV: John Hicks led off the eighth by homering off Mychal Givens to tie the game 2-2.
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