Orioles’ Westburg improving but not setting timetable for return from broken hand

NEW YORK—Jordan Westburg said the right hand that was broken when he was hit by a pitch on July 31^st is improving.

“Out on the field, moving around a little bit, fielding some ground balls, very stationary stuff, taking some one-handed swings with the left arm,” Westburg said. “Happy to be doing some baseball stuff, gets a little boring, sitting on the sidelines, so happy that things are coming along.”

Westburg, who’s on the 10-day injured list, is eager to play. On August 10^th, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said that he hoped the infielder could return before the end of the regular season.

“I’m not going to speak to the timeline yet,” Westburg said. “Still some more imaging to be done. I’m going to let the people making those decisions and the doctors make that call. I’m going to push as hard as I can to be back as soon as I can, but I want to be healthy. I don’t think rushing back and getting on the field and compensating or not being able to play at 100 percent is going to help this team.”

Westburg is trying to be patient.

“It can be hard sometimes,” he said. “I said right when it happened, I was going to set my attitude early on this and not choose to be down and not choose to be frustrated about timing or circumstances. I truly believe this happened for a reason. You’re not the only one and I want to be here for these guys. I’m happy that they’re letting me travel with the team. I’m happy that I can be in the dugout and try and provide some energy any way I can. I’m not the ‘rah-rah guy,’ but I want to be now.

“I’m going to go about my work every single day. I’m going to trust the healing process, trust my body, trust the doctors, trust the training staff and try and get back out there as soon as I can.”