Chris Lee Ready To Rebound

BALTIMORE—A simple game of catch held special significance for lefthander Chris Lee.

One of the Orioles’ top pitching prospects is regaining his health after being sidelined for most of 2016 with a lat injury.

Lee threw off flat ground during the organization’s annual minicamp in January. A series of mound sessions were next on his throwing progression.

Lee went 5-0, 2.98 in eight games (seven starts) before the Orioles shut him down.

“Last year was definitely an eye-opener,” Lee said. “You’ve just got to stay healthy because you never know when the game’s going to take you out. So treat every day like it’s your last.

“I went into this offseason making sure I worked hard and prepared my body so this won’t happen again. I put on some weight and some more muscle and some fat around it—because you can’t pull fat.”

Lee had to stay off a mound until the Orioles were certain that he wouldn’t re-injure his lat.

“It was one of those things I tried to work through, and it didn’t work out for me,” said Lee, 24. “It was our decision to shut it down because you don’t want to overcompensate for things and (then) some other injury happens.

“I want a longer career, and it felt like it was the right thing to do. I tried to come back a couple times and it didn’t work out too good. So finally I shut down, and they told me there was a lot of inflammation in there.

The Astros selected Lee in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of Santa Fe (Fla.) CC. Houston traded him to the Orioles in 2015 for international bonus-pool money.

Physical gains made this offseason could help Lee reach his goal.

“I weighed myself and I was 198 pounds. At the end of the season I was 173,” he said. “I’ve been eating a lot and doing a lot of lower body (work) since the beginning of the offseason. What I was eating in the past wasn’t working out, so I had to go more clean. Straight broccoli—no cheese—and chicken breasts.”

BIRD SEED

• The Orioles lost outfielder Adam Brett Walker on a waiver claim by the Braves.

• The Orioles signed 27-year-old first baseman Jesus Montero to a minor league deal. He hit .317/.349/.438 at Triple-A Buffalo last season, though he must sit out the first 50 games with a drug suspension.