What can the Baltimore Orioles expect from Matt Wieters?

Buck Showalter really like his guys.

But is he asking too much from them?

There has been a lot of talk that the Baltimore Orioles are banking on the return of Matt Wieters and Manny Machado as the “key additions” to the 2015 team that has relatively stayed quiet this offseason. That is a lot to ask of guys who are coming off significant injuries.

Machado is expected back in time for Opening Day, but Wieters likely will not start the season with the team. The difference is that Wieters is another victim of the dreaded surgery in baseball: Tommy John.

WebMD explains that the injury is a result of stress that the throwing motion causes on the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) that ultimately can tear the ligament. To repair the torn ligament, surgeons drill tunnels in the ulna and humerus and take an “accessory tendon” from the forearm and reconstruct the ligament.

Sounds simple, right?

It is no surprise that when Dr. Frank Jobe performed the surgery on the legendary pitcher, Tommy John, in September 1974, Dr. Jobe gave John a one in 100 chance to ever pitch again. With advances in modern science, the success rate is about 85 percent and there are some who argue that it makes the elbow stronger.

Once feared as the end of the glory, the procedure is viewed as a savior in baseball. Several current players have continued their careers with better results following the surgery. Oriole fans do not have to look far to see that Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman have excelled in Washington.

Tommy John surgery is necessary as a result of the stress that the throwing motion causes on the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) that ultimately can tear the ligament.

When Wieters had successful Tommy John surgery on June 16, the estimated timetable for his return was nine months. Do the math and he should be ready by March. Now there are reports that Wieters might not be ready for Opening Day. Those rumors were basically verified with the acquisition of Ryan Lavarnway.

What makes this operation unique is that Wieters is the rare positional player to require it. According to the people at Baseball Heat Maps, of the 730 surgeries recorded at the time of Wieters injury, only 15 catchers had gone under the knife and only eight accumulated MLB experience.

There is a difference in a pitcher and a positional player, let alone a catcher.

We expect a pitcher to throw around 100 pitches through roughly six innings on every fifth day. We understand that someone throwing a ball at over 90 mph over 100 times is going to put a lot of stress on the elbow.But think about the catcher for a minute. While not with the same force that we see from pitchers, every time that ball hits the mitt, it’s a toss back to the mound. When the pitcher is lifted after those six innings of work, the catcher’s day is not done. He still has three innings of work to do and is doing it again the following day. Catchers are hit by pitches, bats and sometimes players too.

The catcher is also swinging the bat, adding more stress to the elbow. One could argue that pitchers swing the bat too, but this is the American League. There are no easy outs in this league.

So with a small sample size of players to compare to, what can Baltimore expect from Wieters?