Baseball Notes: Fuld recovering after errant throw hit his jaw

Oakland outfielder Sam Fuld can smile now, even with swelling on the left side of his face.

Back in the clubhouse a day after being hit in the jaw by an errant throw during the Athletics' 3-2 victory over Colorado on Friday, Fuld was going over the options that will allow him to return to the field as soon as possible.

"It could have been worse," said Fuld, who took batting practice Saturday.

"He looks like he has a chew in," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "If you saw the play, it didn't look good."

Running to first base, Fuld was hit by a throw from Cristhian Adames, who was trying to complete a double play with pitcher Eddie Butler covering first.

He was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, where CT scans showed no signs of a fracture or concussion.

Detroit sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez came out swinging in minor-league games Saturday, their first live pitching of the spring.

Cabrera singled in his first three at-bats and Martinez hit a long home run against Houston Astros prospects.

Both are expected to be designated hitters in Sunday's split-squad games, with Martinez going to Kissimmee to face the Atlanta Braves and Cabrera staying at home against the Washington Nationals.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus wasn't putting any timetable on when either could take the field or even get more than one at-bat in a live game.

Cabrera underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right ankle and had a stress fracture repaired in his right foot.

Martinez, who had surgery after tearing his meniscus in his left knee while playing catch in January, said the home run felt great.

Washington Nationals righthander Stephen Strasburg will miss Sunday's scheduled spring training start after injuring his left ankle during conditioning work Friday.

"He twisted his ankle a little bit, so we're going to have to see how he goes in the next couple of days and push him [back]," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "He's a little sore, so we don't want to have any issues with him not feeling 100 percent."

Williams did not think the injury was serious. Strasburg has not had an MRI.

Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters, who underwent Tommy John surgery last June, is "unlikely" to begin the season with the team, manager Buck Showalter said.

Wieters played catcher for the first time Tuesday and reported no ill effects after the game.

However on Wednesday, the Orioles shut him down from catching for at least a week.

Showalter said that if Wieters is unable to catch the team's opening game April 6 at Tampa Bay, he would not be on the roster as a designated hitter.

The Baltimore manager said that Wieters' recovery is going well, and this shouldn't be viewed as a setback.