SARASOTA, Fla. -- Manager Buck Showalter added a couple of names to the list of players who are on restricted duty because of lower-back soreness.
Third baseman Mark Reynolds has been wearing a heat pack on his lower back for the last week or so, and reserve catcher Taylor Teagarden and reliever Matt Lindstrom also have reported some lower-back soreness. They join Tommy Hunter and Jim Johnson, who have been brought along deliberately because of similar back situations.
"We're just modifying them a little bit,'' Showalter said. "If we were in season, we might handle things a little differently."
Showalter also reported that pitcher Jason Berken has suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
"He felt it [while throwing from] 100 feet,'' Showalter said.
Showalter stopped short of saying that Berken had reached the point where he would not be ready for the regular season, but you can read between the lines.
"We're kind of getting to the point where setbacks for starting pitchers -- or any pitchers -- is not good,'' he said.