SARASOTA, FLA. — Orioles infielder Paul Janish, who had surgery to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow last month, is scheduled to begin baseball activities Tuesday.
Janish, who signed a minor league deal with the Orioles in November, also will resume throwing Friday or Saturday, which will be the short end of the projected three- to five-week timetable to begin a throwing progression.
"Up to this point, everything's been really good," Janish said. "I haven't had any problems. I haven't had any residual soreness or pain. I'm, relatively speaking, in pretty good shape, so from my perspective, I'm trying to massage the situation and expedite the process without pushing too hard."
Janish said he hopes to get into games March 20-21, which would allow him about two weeks to show the Orioles what he can do as a utility infielder. Janish has played shortstop, second base and third base in the major leagues. He upgrades the organization's infield defense, which was a priority in the offseason.
"At this point, my mentality is such that it's just really important for me to get into games and get to play for a week or two weeks just myself so that I'm ready for Opening Day whether it's in the big leagues or Triple-A or whatever," Janish said. "And on the flip side of that, it's to be seen down here and get to play in some games so that when something does happen, whether that's at the camp or its in April, they have a frame of reference and I'm in the mix."
Tuesday would be the first time Janish is on the field this spring. While players are working out in the morning, he has been inside doing his rehab sessions.
"I'm getting a little restless and going a little crazy," Janish said. "It's fortunate that I feel good too. It would be one thing if I wasn't feeling good up to this point. I'm a little bit older player, so I know how my body feels. I'm not going to do anything crazy, but I know I can proceed a little bit quicker than the timeframe typically indicates.
"To be honest, it stinks [being unable to do baseball work] because, by nature, we want to be out on the field. That's our comfort zone. So being here stuck and kind of caged in, it creates a restless feeling that none of us like."
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