One day after his penultimate minor league rehabilitation outing before he's scheduled to rejoin the Orioles, closer Zach Britton on Saturday proclaimed himself physically ready to return from the disabled list.
Britton, who hasn't pitched in a major league game since May 4 because he re-aggravated a left forearm strain, threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for High-A Frederick, retiring the Lynchburg Hillcats in order on just 11 pitches on the second day of back-to-back outings.
"Maybe the (previous) one in (Double-A) Bowie, I felt like I was there but could maybe use another inning, and then after last night maybe after the second hitter I knew I was ready to go," Britton said. "So now I have to do the one at Norfolk. I wish I didn't have to, but that's where we are."
Britton is scheduled to pitch one more inning for Triple-A Norfolk on Monday before being reinstated from the DL before Wednesday's series finale in Milwaukee.
"It's pretty much just get through Norfolk, don't do anything stupid and get up to Milwaukee," Britton said. "But I've thrown all my breaking balls. The command's gone up, the velocity's gone up. The sinker is there. The delivery is good, so there's not a whole lot I need to work on other than just getting through that inning at Norfolk."
As far as facing a higher level of competition, Britton said he has faced good hitters at the Double-A proving ground in Bowie.
"Bowie's got some talent. Looking at the numbers of some of the guys I faced there, I don't even know why they're in Double-A," Britton said. "There's some good hitters [there]. I think competition-wise, nothing prepares you for the big leagues. I've known that since I was in the minors. It's a completely different level, but no I don't think it's competition-wise. I think it's more about getting innings no matter what level."
The Orioles were conservative with Britton's rehab. He took two weeks off from throwing and his progression in Sarasota, Fla., was about a month long. Giving Britton seven minor league rehab games before returning was done with the intent of simulating spring training after his reset.
"We started all over and we knew all along (what it took) to put this to bed, put it at rest," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "But who knows when he gets into a big league game? It could flare up again. I don't know. But we're not going to take any chances with it. I don't think it's overcautious. I think it's the right program. There's a lot of people, including Zach, who weighed in on this program. Taking him 10 days and it happening again? It doesn't seem very smart."
Though the long recovery process forced him to be patient, Britton said it was done for the best.
"Yeah, I think the rehab process, the stuff I did with (minor league medical coordinator) Dave Walker down in Florida, being conservative in the front end, not throwing when I wanted to throw, taking an extra week, was probably a smart play," Britton said. "I haven't had any soreness, so it was obviously the right way to go."
