BALTIMORE - Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez's right thumb blister just isn't going away. And because of that, the right-hander will miss his next scheduled start on Saturday and has been placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 4.
Gonzalez, who is 2-2 with a 4.58 ERA in six starts, threw fastballs in a side session on Thursday with his hand bandaged. Gonzalez will be eligible to return to pitch on May 19.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter reiterated that this is worse than a normal blister.
"It's a callus with a blister underneath and both of them came off," Showalter said. "So he's down to some pretty raw skin."
Showalter, however, said he thinks Gonzalez will be ready to pitch when he is activated.
"We feel confident doing it this way that we can hopefully put it behind us and get him ready to make that start," Showalter said.
Baltimore recalled right-handed reliever Alex Burnett from Class-AAA Norfolk to take Gonzalez's spot on the roster. Burnett was on the team previously, for three days in April, but never made an appearance. He is 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA in six relief appearances for the Tides this season.
Showalter confirmed after Thursday's game that right-hander Steve Johnson will make his debut Saturday in Minnesota as the team's starter.
Johnson began the season on the DL with a back injury. Since then, he is 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts for the Tides. Last season, Johnson went 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA for the Orioles.
"[He's] coming off a good outing down there," Showalter said.
ANOTHER COMEBACK: Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts underwent successful surgery on Thursday on his injured right hamstring. He will now report back to Sarasota, Fla.
Roberts has spent the better part of the last three seasons out with various injuries. This season, he only made it to the third game before getting injured.
However, Showalter said after Wednesday night's game he's confident Roberts will work through it again and be back on the team this season.
"He's very frustrated by it, as we are," Showalter said. "But Brian Roberts is going to come back and make a contribution to this club this year. I've got a good feeling about that.
"He's had to fight back from a lot of things. A lot of guys would have pulled the dirt in, but he's not going to do it."
MINOR ACQUISITION: The Orioles acquired minor-league third baseman Brandon Wood from the Kansas City Royals Thursday morning for cash considerations. The 28-year-old will report to Norfolk.
Wood was selected 23rd overall by the Los Angeles Angels in 2003, but never lived up to the expectations. He's a career .186 hitter in parts of five major league seasons.
This year, Wood was hitting .264 with two homers and seven RBIs in 16 games for Class-AAA Omaha. He has not been in the majors since 2011, when he was on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
UP NEXT: The Orioles travel to Minnesota to play a three-game series against the Twins starting tonight. Jason Hammel (5-1, 4.10 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Friday, Johnson on Saturday, and Wei-Yin Chen (2-3, 3.40) on Sunday.
Minnesota has Mike Pelfrey (3-3, 6.35), Vance Worley (0-4, 6.95), and Scott Diamond (3-2, 3.03) scheduled to pitch.
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