Injury Updates: Soria, Wilson, Feliz, Wang, Torres, Marcum, More

As Spring Training winds down and Opening Day inches ever closer, many of the little nicks and bruises that were thought to be of little concern have lingered a bit longer than expected. Panic should set in any day now in some clubhouses.

Two closers and one former closer headline our injury update for the day.

In total today, 16 players from 13 teams.

Key Injury Updates:

• Royals closer Joakim Soria did not get the good news he was hoping for when he sought out a second opinion on his aching elbow. Bob Dutton reports that Soria's second exam confirmed damage to his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and that a second Tommy John surgery is very likely for the 27-year-old right-hander.
• Speaking of closers and elbow injuries, Brian Wilson's rehab from his off-season surgery has been slowed by "general soreness", reports Hank Schulman of the SF Chronicle. Both Wilson and Giants manager Bruce Bochy seem to think it is nothing serious, but keep an eye out. Wilson will throw 25 pitches tomorrow in a minor league game.
• Rangers closer-turned-starter Neftali Feliz got some good news on his stiff shoulder today. Jon Morosi of Fox Sports tweets that a source told him Feliz felt better today and that tests to this point haven't revealed anything warranting an MRI. He is expected to be reevaluated tomorrow.

• Nationals manager Davey Johnson thinks Chien-Ming Wang will not be ready by Opening Day. He gave Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post a rather frightening quote today, saying that Wang has "a lot of bleeding in there". I'm not familiar with strained hamstrings causing profuse internal bleeding, so hopefully it's nothing too bad.
• Mets center fielder Andres Torres continues to be plagued by tightness in his calf. Manager Terry Collins told Adam Rubin of ESPN that Torres was slated to see a team doctor today to get a better "gauge" on the injury.
• Brewers right-hander Shaun Marcum expects to begin the season in the rotation despite missing much of Spring Training with shoulder tightness, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Marcum threw 26 pitches in two innings today in a Minor League game, only his second start of the spring. He will throw in his first Cactus League game this Sunday and should make his first start of the season April 9 or 10 against the Cubs.
• Carl Crawford is making very slow progress in his return from left-wrist surgery. He is expected to start taking short toss hitting drills tomorrow, reports Peter Abraham, but will likely begin the season on the disabled list.

Newly Injured

• Diamondbacks left fielder Jason Kubel was scratched from today's lineup due to a sore quad, tweets Danny Knobler. It's not believed to be serious, but one imagines Gerardo Parra is crossing his fingers.
• Royals right-hander Luis Mendoza took a Brandon Allen ground ball off his left thigh today, forcing him to leave the game. Mendoza limped into the clubhouse but has been diagnosed with a simple bruised hamstring, reports Bob Dutton.
• Nationals reliever Sean Burnett was scratched from his scheduled outing today because of back spasms, Bill Hadson tweets. Nothing more is known at this point.

Still Hurting

• Brewers outfielder Corey Hart's recovery from knee surgery is still well ahead of schedule, but his head is a little worse for wear after a weight room mishap Tuesday afternoon. Tom Haudricourt reports that Hart was "whacked on the head" while lifting in the weight room and received eight stitches. Hart says he has a lingering headache but it shouldn't affect his knee rehab.
• Blue Jays phenom Brett Lawrie has been out for close to a week with soreness in his left groin and is expected to miss a bit more time. Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com tweets that Lawrie could play tomorrow but likely will not return until Sunday.
• B.J. Upton is still nursing a sore back from his outfield collision with Desmond Jennings last week. The Rays center fielder doesn't think it is anything serious, tweets Marc Thompson of the Tampa Bay Times, but will miss a bit more time.
• Orioles starter Zach Britton received two 'platelet rich plasma' (PRP) injections in his left shoulder today with the hopes of solving the arm issues that have plagued him for some time, reports Britt Ghiroli. MRIs taken by Dr. James Andrews did not reveal any structural damage, so PRP injections were undergone in an attempt to reduce inflammation. The recovery process for the injections is expected to be at least six weeks.

On the Mend

• Indians closer Chris Perez, who has missed all of Spring Training with a left oblique strain, experienced no problems this morning when he threw a live 20-pitch bullpen session, tweets Jordan Bastian. This being his third successful bullpen in the last week, Perez will likely make his Cactus League debut by the end of the week.
• White Sox reliever Jesse Crain, who has also missed all of camp with an oblique strain, is hoping to throw his first bullpen on Friday, tweets Scott Merkin. Crain has experienced some discomfort in his side when throwing at 100 feet, but feels "marginally better".