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Howell will miss beginning of season

Rays lefty bothered by lack of strength in shoulder

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By Bill Chastain / MLB.com

03/20/10 12:29 AM ET

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Lack of strength in J.P. Howell's throwing shoulder will keep the lefty from beginning the season in the Rays' bullpen.

"There's no question he won't start the season," said manager Joe Maddon after the Rays' 6-2 win over the Yankees on Friday night.

Depending on what is determined during Howell's visit to team orthopedist Koco Eaton on Friday, Howell will likely undergo a two- to four-week rehab, at the end of which he could begin throwing.

"The shoulder is weak. We want to try to build up the strength in his shoulder," Maddon said. "Preliminary indications are the two- to four-week rehab situation and then, after that, the actual throwing and then building it back up to game speed. The fact that he's a relief pitcher helps a lot, because he doesn't have to be stretched out a lot to participate again. That's what I know right now."

Without Howell, Maddon will have to look long and hard to find a replacement.

"We don't have anybody who can fill that role if you look at what he's actually done the last two years," Maddon said, "and what he brings to us in regard to the matchup situations. I'm really comfortable with him pitching against the other team's best hitter at any time. And that kind of guy's hard to find.

"We're going to try and figure it out over the next few weeks and try to make our best guess on it and go from there. He's very difficult to replace."

The Rays have been aware of the weakness in Howell's shoulder since the beginning of camp.

"We were concerned about the strength level in his shoulder at the beginning of camp, and we backed him off to specifically address that need," Maddon said. "Before we had him throw a lot, we wanted to have him build up strength first. And that was the whole issue -- it was based on previous testing. And, of course, J.P. could feel it when he was throwing -- he didn't feel as strong."

Ron Porterfield, the team's head athletic trainer, keeps benchmarks for such things as shoulder strength, which allows him to compare where any player is at different points of the season. Having this information can possibly help a player dodge an injury, as having a lack of strength in an area such as the shoulder can lead to injury -- either in the affected part of the body or in or other areas hurt while compensating for that lack of strength.

Porterfield did not like the level of strength in Howell's shoulder when he reported to camp.

"We decided to just back off of it and try to get that thing strong before we move forward with this," said Maddon.

The Rays shut down Howell in mid-September of last season after the team had been eliminated from the playoff race. They attributed the time off to his extensive use in the 2008-09 seasons.

Howell experienced a problem in his left shoulder during the 2006 season, when he pitched for Triple-A Omaha in the Royals organization, and missed the month of May with a shoulder strain.

He went 7-5 with a 2.84 ERA and 17 saves in 69 appearances in 2009 after posting a 6-1 mark and a 2.22 ERA in 64 games the season before.

Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.