Orioles' John Means: Throws off half-mound Monday

Means (elbow) threw 20 fastballs at about 50 percent intensity off a half-mound Monday, Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner reports.

It's a big step for the left-hander in his long road back from Tommy John surgery. Means was pleased with how things went, saying afterward that "it felt like playing baseball again." The veteran southpaw is tentatively projected to rejoin the Orioles' rotation around the All-Star break, but he has many more hoops to jump through before that can become a reality.