Updating Trumbo and Hays

SARASOTA, Fla. - Mark Trumbo is optimistic that his return to the Orioles' lineup is coming soon after a sore quadriceps muscle forced him into the training room.

Trumbo felt the discomfort last weekend and it increased while he was playing in Tuesday's game against the Twins in Fort Myers. Manager Buck Showalter, after talking to head athletic trainer Brian Ebel, said the injury could sideline Trumbo for about a week.

"It's showing some really good improvement. I like where it's going," Trumbo said this morning.

"I think it should be a few more days. It feels quite a bit better than it did. I just kind of got it aggravated there for a few days and didn't seem like it was smart to try to keep going at this point in the spring."

Trumbo is going to increase his baseball activities this morning to test the leg.

"I'm going to hit and run around a little bit today," he said, "so I think a couple more days I'll probably be back in there."

Trumbo served as the designated hitter on Tuesday. He alerted Showalter to the discomfort in his quad and game out of the game earlier than intended.

"In spring, there's a point where you want to work through things because there's natural soreness," he said, "but the game against the Twins, it just seemed like it was a little more than normal, so I decided to say something."

Asked whether the time spent healing could be detrimental to his preparation for the season, Trumbo broke out his dry sense of humor and the part of the stat sheet that shows him being 3-for-20.

"I wasn't really tearing the cover off the ball, so I'm not sure if it put a skid on a hot streak," he said. "No, it's timing. I felt fine in the box. I don't think it's going to be a big hiccup.

"Still plenty of at-bats. Can go on the round and get some more at-bats, so it'll be fine."

Austin Hays also reported significant progress after receiving a cortisone injection in his sore right shoulder. He played catch yesterday from 150-160 feet and said "that was the best it's felt all camp."

"I'm feeling really good," he said. "I'm really excited. Going to take a day off from throwing today and then Monday we'll throw again and then hopefully I'll be live and ready to go in games and everything on Tuesday. Be ready to get rolling."

Hays has appeared in only three games and received 11 at-bats. Discomfort in the shoulder/lat area restricted him to serving as designated hitter.

"Now I can get a couple games in and innings in in the outfield, get used to seeing balls live off the bat again in a game-like scenario," he said. "I feel like there's definitely time to get out there and get my reps in and see where I'm at."

The process requires a certain amount of patience, which isn't easy for a young player trying to make the club.

"I'm just taking it day by day," he said. "Just seeing how it feels once I come in. And the training staff has done a really good job of helping me progress at a pretty quick rate, so I feel good about it."

Looking ahead at pitching matchups, Hunter Harvey opposes the Red Sox's Rick Porcello in Sunday's split-squad game in Fort Myers, and Andrew Cashner opposes the Phillies' Nick Pivetta in Sarasota. Dylan Bundy opposes the Pirates' Tyler Glasnow on Monday and Chris Tillman opposes the Twins' Jake Odorizzi on Tuesday.