Vavra: "I don't think it's going to be an extended period of rest"

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -  Orioles infielder Terrin Vavra isn’t concerned about the discomfort in his left shoulder that removed him from yesterday’s lineup, saying he felt much better this morning and the rest period shouldn’t last long.

Vavra stayed back in camp while teammates headed to St. Petersburg for today’s matchup with the Rays.

The soreness cropped up while Vavra was hitting in the cage during the morning session. He felt it again during batting practice, and Colton Cowser replaced him in left field.

“Just never really got it calmed down,” he said. “We decided to shut it down for the day, give it some rest, but woke up today feeling better than when I went to sleep, so I don’t think it’s going to be anything that lingers too long. Fortunately, we have some time here yet to get things calmed down before we get rolling too heavily.”

Rest and treatments are in store until Vavra is cleared to hit again.

“I don’t think it’s going to be an extended period of rest,” he said. “I think it’s just going to be, get this thing calmed down and get back on the field.”

“I talked to him this morning,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Definitely an improvement from yesterday. He’s going to get a full day of treatment at the complex and let’s hope he gets a little better every day and is OK in a few days.”

Better to happen now than later in camp, but Vavra is swinging a hot bat and doesn’t want to keep it in the rack. He’s 6-for-11 with a double, triple and home run to improve his chances of making the team in a utility role.

“Fortunately, there’s a lot of camp left, so I think there’s going to be plenty of opportunity to get the reps that I do miss,” he said. “But it does stink. I don’t want to have something even the slightest to keep you out. A little frustrating, but ultimately I know that it’s a long season and if I miss March 4 or March 5, it’s better than missing April, May, June, whatever.

“I’d rather miss the time now and get it where it needs to be so I can be good to go down the road.”

This is the first time that Vavra has dealt with shoulder discomfort.

“It’s in my left shoulder, too, so I think it was kind of strange,” he said. “Put a lot of wear and tear on the right shoulder, so it might be a little more expected over there. But everything else in my body feels pretty good. Just was a little uncomfortable yesterday and I think just get it taken care of and get back to the baseball.”

Ryan Watson, the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2022, is getting closer to making his spring debut. Watson was supposed to appear in Monday’s game against Tampa Bay but couldn’t pitch due to some neck stiffness.

“I’m back to 100 percent, I’m fine,” he said. “It was just a little crick in the neck kind of thing. Woke up and it was stiff, and got it handled in the training room and I’m back ready to go.”

Watson threw on the back fields yesterday and will have a bullpen session “sometime beginning of next week, and then throw again sometime next week,” he said.

“I’m not really sure exactly when yet,” he said, “but I know I’m ready to go when they ask.”

Watson wasn’t making the club out of spring training but wanted to leave another positive impression after posting a combined 3.44 ERA and 1.099 WHIP with 108 strikeouts in 107 1/3 innings between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk.

“I was pretty bummed about it,” he said. “I was looking forward to the opportunity, looking forward to getting out there, but it’s still early, so got to take care of myself, take care of the body now, and be able to go later down the road.”

The Orioles likely will assign Watson to Norfolk, where he’s hoping to build off last year.

“Show that I put in some good work in the offseason,” he said. “Kind of tuned up my stuff that I wanted to work on. It got better, and I feel like I can compete at this level.”

Kyle Bradish starts today against the Rays, with other pitchers on the trip including Mike Baumann, Rule 5 pick Andrew Politi, Wandisson Charles and Nolan Hoffman.

Cole Irvin starts Monday against the Phillies in Sarasota – MASN will broadcast the game – Grayson Rodriguez starts Tuesday against the Twins in Fort Myers and Kyle Gibson starts Wednesday against the Pirates in Sarasota.

Terribly sad news from Rays camp: Dave Wills, who served as the team’s radio voice for the past 18 years, passed away this morning at age 58.

The Rays canceled today’s broadcast and will observe a moment of silence before the game. They’ll honor Wills with a special pregame tribute this season.