Pearce makes whirlwind return back to O's

BALTIMORE -- Steve Pearce was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday, but since the Orioles' roster reshuffling happened right around the time of the 4 p.m. ET non-waiver Trade Deadline, there was plenty of urgency for the call.

Pearce, who was rehabbing from multiple wrist injuries, was getting set to take batting practice with Class A Advanced Frederick, was notified at about 3 p.m. that he'd be needed in Baltimore that night.

"When you're down in the Minor Leagues that's a great call to have," Pearce said. "It was going about a million miles an hour yesterday. The bottom line is, I'm healthy, I'm able to play."

The designated hitter/outfielder has been on the shelf since June 20, after trying to play through wrist injuries for part of the season. Pearce went to Sarasota, Fla., to work his way back at the team's medical facility, where he received a cortisone shot.

Frederick is about 50 minutes west of Baltimore, so Pearce hustled to the ballpark and was the DH on Wednesday, delivering a single in his first at-bat. He batted ninth and went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and a strikeout in the Orioles' 11-0 loss to the Astros. The original plan was to have Pearce play two games in Frederick and then graduate to Double-A Bowie for three games before being reevaluated.

"It was very surprising, I was getting ready to go to Bowie. Excited to get the call," Pearce said.

Pearce said the difference between his swing now compared with before he went on the disabled list is "night and day."

"I was hoping the pain would just go away [without a DL stint]. I kept playing through it," Pearce said. "The pain was addressed when I went down to Sarasota and now it feels great."

Including Wednesday's 2-for-3 effort, Pearce is hitting .250/.323/.393. An occasional player early in the season, Pearce said he used to take a lot of swings to stay fresh and he said that negatively affected the health of his wrists.

"It took a toll on my hands. At first, I just thought it was sore, but I kept doing damage to it every day," said Pearce, who plans to cut down on his work between game action. "Less is more. That's going to be my approach."