Chen set to throw from full mound Saturday

BALTIMORE -- Several injured Orioles continued to progress toward rejoining the team, with lefty Wei-Yin Chen (left oblique strain) set to throw off a regular mound for the first time on Saturday.

Chen, who threw off a half-mound on Thursday with no reported issues, will fly back up north to rejoin the team should Saturday go well, and he would take his next scheduled work day with pitching coach Rick Adair.

"At some point him and Rick will decide when he needs to go out and pitch [for an affiliate]," manager Buck Showalter said of Chen, who will travel with the Orioles to Detroit and Toronto next week. "Hopefully sometime during that trip."

Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold could go on a rehab assignment when the team leaves for that road trip. Reimold, who has been on the DL with a hamstring strain, tested his leg running sprints on Thursday afternoon and, assuming that went OK, he could start getting at-bats next week.

"Bowie's at home Tuesday, from what I hear," Reimold said of the team's Double-A affiliate. "That's what I'm shooting for. I'm going to go out and sprint today. ... It's feeling better, I've made a lot of progress."

While Reimold could be used as a designated hitter, Showalter said he wants Reimold to be able to play the field before returning.

"I want him to be a full go," Showalter said. "[Special assistant Terry Crowley] will handle it. He may DH a day or two. I'll let Terry handle that. And Nolan. Let them handle where he goes. He's been removed from at-bats for a while now. And it'll be more than a one or two day thing."

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, who joined the team from Sarasota, Fla., following this past weekend's series against Tampa Bay, was among those who took early batting practice prior to Thursday's game before weather forced the group inside. It was the first time Roberts, who has been back rehabbing from a hamstring surgery, has taken batting practice.