SARASOTA, Fla. -- Kevin Gausman, who received a cortisone injection in his pitching shoulder on March 20, will start the season on the disabled list but could make his season debut as early as April 10.
"That's what we're down to. He'll start on the 10th, 13th or later," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Gausman, who has been sidelined with right shoulder tendinitis.
Due to the team's off-days, Gausman wouldn't be needed much earlier, as Showalter said that the DL stint is "from a roster standpoint," enabling the O's to carry an extra player initially.
Gausman was slated to pick up a baseball for the first time since his injection on Monday and do some light toss at 90 feet.
"There's a couple spots where [the recovery] can go faster or slower with what we see from 90 and 120 [feet], by what goes on there," Showalter said. "If that goes really well, then [the rehab] might get accelerated. But we're not going to do anything that jeopardizes him getting this all put behind him. So if we slow down with it, and he doesn't make either one of those dates, he doesn't make either one of those dates."