Orioles' Jimenez rejoins team, hopes to pitch in 'five or six days'

Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez has rejoined the big league club after pitching well in a rehab start at Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, reports Dan Connolly of The  Baltimore Sun. 

Jimenez hasn't pitched for the O's since July 5. He was placed on the disabled list July 11, after he stepped in a pothole in the team's parking lot and sprained his ankle. 

"I didn’t have any concern about my ankle," he said of his rehab outing. "I was able to throw 90-something pitches, threw all my pitches, breaking balls, fastball. Everything was working good. 

"[I'll] hopefully pitch in five or six days. It’s been a while since I have played in a game over here. I’m really excited about it, and I’m looking forward to being on the mound one of these days."

Orioles manager Buck Showalter wouldn't say when he plans to start Jimenez again, but made clear that he won't be on the mound during the team's three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, which begins on Tuesday. 

"See how he feels [Tuesday] with it," Showalter said, "take his work day when he needs to, and we’ll see how it slots out after Thursday." 

With a 4.52 ERA, 4.70 FIP, and a league-leading 60 walks (despite sitting out the last month), it may not be that easy for Jimenez to crack the O's rotation, which currently features five perfectly capable hurlers with sub-4.00 ERAs. 

"We’ve got some other things to look at it, and see where it fits, see where we are in a lot of areas," said Showalter. "When we get to that point, I am hoping everyone continues to pitch well in our rotation and that we have a good… situation to solve."

Whether that means running with a six-man rotation or moving one of their current starters to the bullpen has apparently not been discussed. But Jimenez expects to be starting.

"I never throw out of the bullpen," he said.