TEMPE, Ariz. -- C.J. Wilson still has a long, long way to go.
The veteran starting pitcher, bothered by pain in his throwing shoulder for most of Spring Training, probably won't start playing catch again until Opening Day, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Friday, at which point Wilson will basically have to restart his throwing program from scratch.
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Wilson's ailment dates back to a bullpen session from the first couple of days in camp, which prompted an MRI that revealed shoulder tendinitis. The 35-year-old left-hander continued to experience pain in ensuing bullpen sessions and is currently shut down from throwing altogether. For the next 8-10 days, Wilson will focus on strengthening his shoulder with hope that the pain will be gone by the time he throws off a mound again.
Surgery has not been discussed.
"I wouldn't say he's starting over, but there's no doubt that some issues have come up that he's dealing with and working his way through," Scioscia said. "We're going to let it go at its own schedule. You can't force these things."
Wilson underwent season-ending surgery to remove bone chips and spurs from his elbow last August, but was able to go through his normal throwing program over the offseason. His shoulder didn't flare up until he started to throw off a mound, prompting the first time he's had issues in that area since a brief bout with tendinitis in 2006.
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The southpaw recently told reporters the pain has forced him to basically re-invent the way he throws -- "I won't even look like the same pitcher," Wilson said -- but Scioscia cautioned that the changes won't be so drastic.
Wilson is nonetheless being extra cautious, because the Angels have a decent amount of starting-pitching depth, and also because he finds it counterproductive to pitch when not fully healthy.
"I don't really care how long it takes me to get back to the level I want to get back to," Wilson, making $20 million in his final year before free agency, said earlier in camp.
"If it takes an extra 3-4 weeks, whatever. It's better than me going out there and being substandard and getting my head knocked off and being like, 'OK, now what do we do?' That's what a lot of guys do, and it's not a good way to do it. I'd rather build up to the point where I need to be, and then I'll be fine."