Reds setup man Jared Burton opened the 2011 regular season on the disabled list due to shoulder inflammation and underwent arthroscopic surgery on that same shoulder just this past week.
He is a long way from fully returning to a major league mound, but the right-handed reliever is making some amount of progress.
According to Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Burton has already been cleared to begin doing light rehab work and is aiming to return to the Cincinnati bullpen by July.
“It’s still pretty sore, but I’ve made a lot of progress in a week already,” Burton said Satruday. “I’ve really been pushing myself the first few days, and it’s made it a lot easier to get over that initial hump.”
Burton, 29, has a healthy 3.40 career ERA and 1.31 career WHIP across 158 major league relief appearances. He spent a majority of the 2010 season in the minors due to problems with arm fatigue.
