SEATTLE -- Seattle right-hander Felix Hernandez, on the disabled list with a strained right calf, is recovering from the injury slower than expected.
"I know he got rechecked yesterday. He is feeling a little bit better. It's not moving along as quickly as he hoped it would, nor me or anybody," manager Scott Servais said Saturday. "But, he is feeling a little bit better. No timetable yet on when he's going to get out and start running around or doing anything like that."
Hernandez was 4-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 10 starts when he went on the DL, retroactive to May 28, after he injured is calf during pregame stretching on May 31. The initial thought was he would miss three starts, but it will certainy be more than that.
Hernandez, who had another MRI on Friday, has only been on the DL three times in his career, the last time in 2008.
"They said a little more rest," Hernandez said before Saturday night's game against the Rangers at Safeco Field. "I haven't been on the DL since 2008, so this is frustrating for me."
The only baseball-related activity Hernandez does is throw lightly while seated in a chair, wearing a protective boot.
"I just get treatment every day," he said. "It's taken a lot longer than what I thought."
Even when Hernandez is finally cleared to resume throwing, it's going to take some time before he's back in the rotation.
"He's never done anything like this before where he's missed this amount of time," Servais said. "But, it's going to be more than just a couple bullpens and you fire him out there for 85, 90 pitches. It's going to take more than that with the amount he'll have been down. You kind of have to build it back up a little bit."
James Paxton, called up from Triple-A Tacoma to take Hernandez's spot, is 0-2 with a 3.72 ERA heading into his start Saturday night. Paxton made his third start on Saturday against the Rangers.