FORT MYERS, Fla. _ Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman didn't take his scheduled bullpen session Sunday after just 10 warm-up throws caused his shoulder discomfort to crop up, manager Buck Showalter said. It's an ominous development in what has already been a cautious camp for the team's top starting pitcher.
"Not good," Showalter said. "Started to play catch, long-toss to start to get ready to go to the mound, and after about 10 throws they shut it down. He's still got some discomfort there."
Tillman, who spent three weeks on the disabled list last year with shoulder discomfort that was described at the time as shoulder bursitis, came into camp on a rehab track after the issue cropped back up in the offseason. Only in the last few weeks did he begin to ramp up his throwing activities.
He had two bullpen sessions this week _ the first going better than the second _ and a third was scheduled for Saturday but pushed back. Showalter said he was "not feeling completely normal" during and after that, and the team changed antibiotics he was taking to alleviate the possible side effect of joint soreness that could come with it.
They hoped the extra day would help, but Tillman still didn't respond. With head athletic trainer Richie Bancells in Fort Myers with the club for a day game against the Minnesota Twins, Showalter said Dr. Leigh Ann Curl, the Ravens' team surgeon and the Orioles' assistant physician, was at the team facility in Sarasota checking out Tillman's shoulder. Curl was already in town and did not come specifically to see Tillman.
"They'll get their heads together," Showalter said. "We'll see. I'd like to think that medication had something to do with it, but it's just kind of the same spot. We'll see."
The latest setback means Tillman "being one of our five starters to start the season is in jeopardy," Showalter said.
If the consultation with Curl and the team's medical staff requires an additional opinion, a lot more than just the start of the season could be in jeopardy for Tillman, who is one year from free agency.
"It's the same thing he missed time with last year," Showalter said. "He could start back from scratch. We think we know what we're dealing with physically. If that is still the same, there hasn't been some change in that, he should be able to pitch at some point _ just not quite as quick as we had hoped. The worst-case scenario for me _ well, not worst _ but he kind of starts over from scratch and stays down here in extended spring. It looks like he's got a chance to be left here with [minor league medical coordinator] Dave Walker, but I'm hoping something changes in the next week. He may try it again, I don't know, or we may get back and he's headed for a second opinion. This is a big year for him."
When the issue cropped up last August, Tillman described it as mostly discomfort between his outings, not while he was throwing. However, especially early on before he took a trip to the disabled list to treat the issue, he struggled at times with control and diminished velocity. In his final game before going on the disabled list, he pitched two-plus innings and allowed six runs on six hits and five walks _ an almost unheard-of line for Tillman.
Still, an offseason of rest that included an injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to enhance his recovery was enough that he hoped it would be a non-factor going forward.
Before this, the hope for Tillman was he'd continue to rest and rehabilitate his shoulder for the first few weeks of spring training before escalating to a game on March 17. That would have put him in line to maybe miss the first week or so of the regular season, with a planned return date of April 15, but that's hard to imagine now.
The Orioles don't need a fifth starter until April 15, so the schedule could be manipulated, but now attention turns to who might be able to open the season in Tillman's spot in the rotation. Right-handers Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson are in the equation, though impressive springs from left-handers Chris Lee and Jayson Aquino have elevated each of their stocks in Showalter's eyes. Right-hander Gabriel Ynoa, who was acquired last month from the New York Mets, is also in that mix.
If they go the outside route, free agent starters still on the market include Doug Fister, Colby Lewis, Edwin Jackson.
