Zach Eflin itching to get back to Orioles

On the injured list with a right lat strain, Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Zach Eflin made it clear he is ready to return to the rotation as quickly as possible.

"I feel like I've been past it," Eflin said on Saturday before the Orioles continued their series at Camden Yards against the Kansas City Royals. "Honestly, I felt good now for a week and a half or two weeks getting on stuff in bullpens. I've been really going a little crazy, but I'm ready to get out there ASAP."

First, however, Eflin will have to throw on Sunday in a rehab assignment on Sunday for High-A Aberdeen (Md). Eflin told reporters on Saturday that he doesn't know if a hard pitch count for him will be in place.

"I don't know if anything has been set in stone," Eflin said. "I've been told maybe 60 pitches and maybe four or five innings."

Eflin, in the final year of a three-year, $40 million deal, last pitched on April 7, throwing 6.0 innings and allowing four hits and one run in a road win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has made three starts this season, including Baltimore's Opening Day contest at the Toronto Blue Jays.

He is also part of a banged-up Orioles team. In all, an MLB-high 14 players are now on the injured list for Baltimore.

"That's a lot of guys," Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. "You've got to worry about the 26 guys right now that we have on the roster and do everything we can to play well, which we've done three out of the last four nights. Continue to play that kind of baseball. I don't see anybody hanging their head or feeling sorry for us. The other teams aren’t going to feel sorry for us... We've got to put one foot in front of the other and continue to play like we have been three out of the last four nights."

Eflin is planning to be back soon to bolster Baltimore's rotation.

"I'd say, go a day at a time, but I'm not expecting to be there long," Eflin said of his trip to the minors. "Didn't necessarily want to do something like this, but I think it kind of gets both sides what we need and what we want, which is for me to get back out there as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to competing again tomorrow and then kind of going from there."

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.