Jon Niese downplayed the severity of his shoulder strain Saturday, telling MMO he will start the fourth game out of the All-Star break in Seattle on July 21.
Niese, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 5 last week, said his shoulder is fatigued, not necessarily injured.
“It really is not an injury, it’s pretty much just a little resting period,” Niese said. “My shoulders just got fatigued and it got progressively got worse and worse each outing.”
The 27-year-old said that although his nagging injuries in Spring Training were not related to his tired shoulder, they did hamper his ability to get his arm into the “best possible shape” entering the regular season.
Terry Collins told reporters prior to Saturday’s game that Niese will throw tomorrow, but the team has not made any determination as to when the lefty will return.
“We’re just going to wait to see, once we get out of the break, how he’s doing,” Collins said.
Bartolo Colon was announced as the starter for the second-half opener in San Diego today. Collins also said that he plans to start Dillon Gee in the Padres series as well.
Niese is 5-4 with a 2.96 ERA in 17 starts this season.
