Miami Marlins left-hander Wei-Yin Chen is not expected to be ready for Opening Day.
Manager Don Mattingly said Chen started throwing in mid-January. Chen said he is hoping to start throwing bullpen sessions by early March.
"I've been feeling good so far. We're not rushing anything, so the only thing I'm concerned about is to get my arm ready to pitch again," Chen said through translator Louis Chao. "I'm not concerned about making it before Opening Day. That's not my concern."
Chen's injury history has become a long one since he signed a five-year, $80 million contract with the Marlins in January 2016. He made 27 starts the past two seasons, spending about half the time on the disabled list with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow _ an injury that often leads to Tommy John surgery.
This winter, Chen said, he tried "several different things" to treat it.
"I can't really get into details," Chen said, citing a fuzzy memory/lack of expert knowledge of what exactly he did. "I just hope this treatment I have (will work)."
Chen is making more money than any other Marlin this year: a $10 million salary, plus $8 million from a deferred signing bonus, to be paid June 30, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts.
Chen said he has been trying "to look at the bright side and have a fresh start."
"We want to give him every opportunity to be healthy, No. 1, and be able to compete," Mattingly said. "If you're not healthy, you can't compete."
