Morning notes on Wieters, Gausman, Tolleson and Matusz

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles catcher Matt Wieters will throw to the bases today in potentially the final step before he's cleared to move back behind the plate.

Manager Buck Showalter and bench coach John Russell met with Wieters yesterday to formulate a plan. Wieters hasn't caught since March 12, leaving the game after the first inning with right elbow soreness.

"We're moving towards it quickly," Wieters said. "We're going to throw to bases today, see how it goes and go from there. Right now, we'll just throw to bases and hopefully everything will go fine and we'll take another step forward.

"We're getting to the point now where it feels as good as it did before I hurt it two weeks ago. Hopefully, get back out there, keep it strong and keep it healthy."

Wieters hit from both sides yesterday in a minor league game. He had 11 plate appearances, going a combined 2-for-9 with two walks.

"The swing is fine, so just trying to get up the at-bats," he said.

Wieters was facing Single-A pitching. The two walks must be an indication that his batting eye is sharp.

"I don't know about that," Wieters said, smiling. "Those guys were throwing hard yesterday."

Kevin Gausman will throw Sunday or Monday after continuing his shoulder exercises this week. He received a cortisone injection last Sunday to reduce the inflammation.

Gausman thought he might be able to pick up a ball yesterday, but it didn't happen.

"I think I was just being kind of hopeful, I guess, so we did some shoulder strengthening and stuff on Thursday. Came in yesterday and thought I might have thrown, but we decided they'd rather have two days of shoulder stuff, so have another strengthening day today," Gausman said.

"It's gotten significantly better every day. I feel fine. My range of motion is great. The thing was, it was weird because once I got loose I was fine. I was still able to throw hard. I think just the way I was recovering was one of the signs that kind of told me it was tendinitis."

To ensure there are no setbacks, Gausman will stay on a steady progressions while working his way back into the rotation.

"Yeah, I'm not going to come out and throw 40 pitches in my first bullpen, but I hope that it does kind of progress a little rapidly," he said. "I don't want to miss three or four starts. I definitely want to be with the team early on in the season and be able to make 30-plus starts. My goal is to get there within the first two weeks of the season."

Infielder Steve Tolleson said he feels much better this morning and is available to play after colliding yesterday with catcher Francisco Pena and jarring his back and neck. Tolleson also had the wind knocked out of him.

Left-hander Brian Matusz remains scheduled to pitch on Sunday after yesterday's bullpen session.

To correct yesterday's note, he's more likely to pitch at Twin Lakes Park and remain eligible to have an assignment on the disabled list backdated to March 25. He could return on April 9.

The Red Sox are starting Justin Haley for today's game. Haley, 24, was 5-16 with a 5.15 ERA and 1.548 WHIP in 27 starts last summer at Triple-A Portland. He was 2-1 with an 0.64 ERA and 0.857 WHIP in four starts in the Arizona Fall League.

For the Red Sox
Mookie Betts RF
Jackie Bradley Jr. CF
Chris Young LF
David Murphy DH
Allen Craig 1B
Sandy Leon C
Rafael Devers 3B
Mauricio Dubon SS
Mike Miller SS

Justin Haley RHP