Wieters catches 7 innings at extended spring
Backstop hasn't had any setbacks; next step is catching back-to-back games
NEW YORK -- Matt Wieters caught seven innings in an extended spring training game on Thursday as he continues to progress toward catching in back-to-back contests.
Wieters will likely take Friday off, and manager Buck Showalter said there hasn't been any setbacks since Wieters started at extended spring training.
"He's had soreness, which is normal," Showalter said of Wieters, who is rehabbing back from Tommy John surgery last June. "That's normal, and nothing that's been in one spot all the time that would be alarming. It's moved around. It's not as much as it was, and it's not often. It's very normal what goes on in this period. It's that last step that he's got to get over before he starts playing [every day]."
Wieters will have to catch in back-to-back games before going out on a rehab assignment, and he will essentially have to make up for missing most of Spring Training, meaning he won't return until at least June. The O's would like to have him back before the All-Star break.