Kevin Gausman is set to return from the injured list and start the Braves’ opener against Miami on Friday.
Gausman, 28, threw 90 pitches in his minor-league start Saturday. He completed the day without any complications, putting him on track for his expected return date. Gausman had battled shoulder soreness through spring.
“Felt good, no setbacks arm-wise,” he said. “I actually wasn’t very sore at all the next day. It was good. It’ll be fun tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”
Gausman appeared in three games over the exhibition slate, tossing 5-1/3 innings. His final spring outing was his biggest workload – 78 pitches across 3-1/3 frames in the finale – but after throwing 90 pitches in his latest outing, he feels caught up to speed.
“It was different from what I’ve been used to in the past,” Gausman said of his spring. “But hat’s off to the Braves and their medical staff for doing a good job keeping me on a solid plan all spring and taking me along consciously.”
The right-hander will miss only one start, a fortunate outcome for a Braves team that dealt with a handful of minor injuries in March. He returns a day after left-hander A.J. Minter returned from the injured list having missed only a week of the season.
Acquired from the Orioles in July, Gausman proved an important pickup for the eventual division champs. He earned a 2.87 ERA with a 44:18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 10 starts.
