So much for the good sentiment surrounding Sunday's win and the end of a nine-game losing streak. The Orioles learned today that outfielder Felix Pie will be out for at least three months after he tore the latissimus dorsi muscle off the bone.
Pie, whose injury was initially classified as a strained muscle in his upper back, had a magnetic resonance imaging performed today and then visited another doctor, when the diagnosis was made.
"The prognosis is just to rest, no surgery needed," said Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. "But the probable time when he can return, we're probably looking at three months. [The severity] did come as a surprise to me. He thinks he did it on Opening Day when he threw the runner out at the plate and then he's had periodic issues since. It is certainly disappointing from our standpoint. It is the one area where we felt like we had depth, but it's disappointing for the kid and disappointing for us."
With Lou Montanez, Luke Scott, Nolan Reimold Nick Markakis and Adam Jones on the roster, MacPhail said that he has no plans to bring in an outfielder. Pie, meanwhile, will go to Sarasota to begin the rehab process.
Injured second baseman Brian Roberts (herniated disk in back) saw back specialist Dr. Lee Riley for the second time in a four-day span, and while he's progressing, he still has not been cleared to resume physical activities. Roberts was eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday, but that's not going to happen.
"I think things are progressing as they had hoped," MacPhail said. "We're probably a week or so away from [him resuming baseball activites], in the best case. I think we're talking about a matter of weeks and not days, that's for sure."