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Orioles' Wieters ramps up rehab with hopes of being ready for Opening Day

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Wieters took another positive step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery and continues to have his eyes set on being ready for Opening Day. 

Wieters, who underwent the elbow operation in June, threw from a distance of 150 feet Monday, the furthest he has tossed the ball since his 2014 season was prematurely cut short. The Baltimore Orioles catcher had previously been throwing from 120 feet out. 

A three-time All-Star, who's set to become a free agent after the 2015 season, Wieters has experienced no setbacks during his rehab and is encouraged with the progress he's making. 

"Everything's kind of moved along and we're preparing for me to be ready for Opening Day," Wieters said, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN. "We still have a good couple of months before we're there, so it's still going to be a lot of work to put into it, but that's what I'm preparing for. We're trying to get all the steps checked off before we get there."

Wieters, limited to just 26 games in 2014, was on fire before he was lost for the season, hitting .308/.339/.500 with five homers. The switch-hitter had a string of three consecutive 20-homer seasons snapped. 

Baltimore, which acquired outfielder Travis Snider on Tuesday, has been relatively quiet this offseason, and will be banking on internal improvements and good health from Wieters, Manny Machado and Chris Davis this upcoming year as the club attempts to defend its division title. 

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