Pirates’ Perez stays away from mound
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Oliver Perez has not pitched during the first two days of spring training because of stiffness in his throwing shoulder. Perez was limited to conditioning exercises Saturday and wasn’t allowed to play catch.
The shoulder tightened from sleeping the wrong way Thursday night, Perez said. He was prepared to throw Friday, but the team scratched him from his 50-pitch session just minutes before he was scheduled to take the mound.
“Everything is fine,” Perez said. “I’m just a little tired in the shoulder.”
The 23-year-old Perez is the only healthy Pirates pitcher who has not thrown off a mound during the first two days of workouts. That’s strictly a precaution, said Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield, who expects Perez to return to the mound in the next day or two.
“It’s smart to give him an extra day or two off,” manager Lloyd McClendon said. “He’s too valuable, too important to fool around with.”
Perez was 12-10 with a 2.98 ERA in 2004, led all major league starters in strikeouts per nine innings and set a franchise record for a left-handed pitcher by recording 239 strikeouts in 196 innings.
He also held opposing hitters to a .202 average, the second-best mark in the National League, while his ERA ranked fourth.
After setting a career high in innings pitched last year, Perez was asked to skip winter ball for the first time in his career when he returned home to Culiacan, Mexico.
“This is the first offseason that he hasn’t thrown, so to some degree it’s new territory for him in coming back and getting ready for a season,” Littlefield said.
The Pirates also said that catcher J.R. House, a former top prospect, is experiencing discomfort in his right shoulder.
He dressed for practice Friday, but was withheld from drills, and did not dress Saturday.
House, who has been oft-injured during his six minor league seasons, will see orthopedist Dr. James Andrews on Monday for a second opinion. House’s injury was detected earlier this week during his physical.
Littlefield described House’s injury as a “chronic problem” and said more information would be relayed after Andrews examines him in Birmingham, Ala.
House signed with the Pirates after they selected him in the fifth round of the 1999 draft. But he has been beset by injuries the past four seasons.