After handling their young catcher with kid gloves last year, Oriole officials talked this spring about putting more responsibility on the shoulders of Matt Wieters, and that's exactly what they've done through the first two-plus weeks of the season.
Wieters is starting behind the plate tonight against the Seattle Mariners for the sixth straight game and for the 14th time in the Orioles' 15 contests. The only game that he hasn't started during a stretch where the Orioles haven't had a day off is on April 14 when Craig Tatum got the call.
"We took it easy on him in the spring and built him up toward the end of the spring," said Orioles manager Dave Trembley. "I thought going into the first part of the season until we had days off, he was going to catch."
Last season, Wieters was called up to the majors on May 29, the Orioles' 49th game, so he was with the club for 114 total games. During that span, he started 86 games at catcher, and 10 at designated hitter. He entered another game as a pinch-hitter, which means that he got 17 full days off after he joined the club last year.
Trembley said that he'll likely give the 23-year-old more days off as the weather starts getting warmer, and the grind of the season takes hold. But at this point, Trembley sees no harm in Wieters' early schedule.
"It's not like it's the dog days of July and August," Trembley said. "He's fine, he's a young guy. Like I said, he's the guy and he's the catcher and it's his staff and I'm going to go with him."
That's just fine with Wieters, who said that his body feels great after an offseason in which he made conditioning a focus.
"I wouldn't say that I expected it, but it's good the way it has worked out," the second-year catcher said. "If it was later in the year, like June and August and September, I probably wouldn't be catching days after night [games]. But earlier in the year, I still feel good and you try to get as much out of your body as possible. It's going to get worn down as the year goes on, but I feel good and fresh at the beginning of the year so you try to catch as many games as possible."