Wieters suffers forearm cut in household accident; will resume baseball activities by January

All-Star catcher Matt Wieters was involved in a household accident earlier this offseason in which he cut his left forearm, but the injury is not expected to affect his ability to play baseball.

The cut required stitches and he’s had to wear a protective shield on his left, non-throwing arm, but he’ll be able to resume baseball activities by January, according to an industry source. It’s not expected to have a bearing on his ability to be ready for the upcoming season.

Wieters, 30, is widely considered the top catcher available on the free-agent market after an eight-season career with the Orioles in which he made four All-Star teams and won two Gold Gloves.

He hit .243 with 17 homers and 66 RBIs in 2016 while playing in 124 games – which may be the most important statistic for Wieters, who needed to show he could again play every day after having elbow surgery in 2014.

He was eased along in 2015 and in the first part of this past season, but ultimately started 111 games (101 complete games) at catcher and threw out 35 percent of would-be basestealers, slightly above his career average.

The Orioles chose not to make him a qualifying offer this winter – he accepted in 2015 – meaning Wieters can now be signed by any team without that club being subject to losing a draft pick.

Wieters and Washington’s Wilson Ramos were by far the class of the free-agent catching market this winter, but Ramos’ value took a hit when he needed knee surgery in October.