Huff strains groin in Wednesday's win

SEATTLE -- Baltimore first baseman Aubrey Huff strained his left groin while caught between first and second base in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Mariners and left the game.

Manager Dave Trembley said afterwards that the club's head athletic trainer, Richie Bancells, wouldn't have any immediate "determination of the extent or severity" of the injury until Thursday.

"He won't be able to say one way or the other if it's minor, major or if he'll be out," Trembley said. "[Huff] wanted to go out there [for the bottom of the inning], but Richie said it probably wasn't good to do that."

Huff, meanwhile, said he didn't think it was a big deal and certainly not worthy of the 15-day disabled list.

"No, I don't think so," said Huff, who has previously strained his right groin. "It just crept up on me. I did the whole splits, and it just kind of grabbed me real quick. It's kind of sore, but everything is cool. I think my pride was more hurt than my groin."

If Huff's injury is determined to be DL-worthy, the Orioles would not have to trade or designate for assignment and possibly lose either outfielder Felix Pie or utility man Oscar Salazar right away.

With shortstop Cesar Izturis on schedule to return to the team Friday, the Orioles were facing a tough decision to clear roster space for Izturis, with Pie and Salazar both being out of Minor League options and seeming to be the only players the Orioles could afford to lose off the active roster.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said Tuesday that Pie and Salazar had generated interest from other clubs, and he indicated that neither would make it through waivers without being claimed by another team.



(mlb.com)