Chen reports to Sarasota feeling pain free

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles got some positive news on injured starter Wei-Yin Chen on Saturday morning, with manager Buck Showalter noting that the left-handed pitcher reported to the team's spring facility in Sarasota, Fla., pain free.

"He's going to start jogging in the pool," Showalter said of the immediate plan for Chen's rehab. "It's the type of injury, basically you can't really do anything. That's the first time he's had that on the zero-to-ten scale, so that was encouraging."

Chen has been sidelined since May 12 when he exited the game early after suffering a Grade 2 left oblique strain. Typically obliques are pesky injuries, and there's a chance of doing more damage if Chen were to pick up a ball before he's fully healed. The initial timetable was three or four weeks, although it looks it'll be at least a month before the 27-year-old Chen would be healthy enough to return.

Chen, the Orioles' most consistent starter dating back to the start of last season, is 3-3 with a 3.04 ERA in eight starts this year.