Brian Roberts revealed today that he was diagnosed with a small herniated disc in his back about one month ago, but he doesn't foresee it being an issue in getting ready for Opening Day. Some quotes from Roberts, courtesy of Roch Kubatko:
"It set me back a couple weeks, but we're starting to progress," he said. "We're still going to have to take it slow with the hitting, just so we don't have any setbacks.
"I was working out and thought I had back spasms like I've gotten before, but it just kind of lingered. That's when we decided to dig a little deeper."
The good news is that doctors in both Arizona and Baltimore have determined that he will not need surgery. The bad news is that this could set Roberts back quite a bit, even if he does say he will be ready in time for Opening Day. It's also a reminder that the Orioles second baseman is no spring chicken. They can be as sunshine-y as they want to be about this injury but for some reason I feel a bit of doom regarding the entire thing.
If Roberts ends up missing time we're looking at the following scenarios at 2B: Robert Andino (ugh), Ty Wigginton (ew), or Justin Turner (hmmm...maybe).