Seattle's Kelley throws first simulated inning since surgery

SEATTLE -- Shawn Kelley was back on the mound Wednesday. Only this time there was someone swinging in the batter's box.

The Seattle Mariners reliever threw a 20-pitch simulated inning, facing hitters for the first time since undergoing modified Tommy John surgery last season.

It's part of a lengthy rehab process for the right-hander, who made some flat-ground throws during spring training, then graduated to bullpen sessions before facing hitters again.

"It's good to finally be out on the mound with a hitter in the box that's actually swinging," Kelley said. "It's a big step."

Kelley said he threw around 14 fastballs, the rest sliders. He could throw another simulated inning sometime this weekend, then head out on a rehab assignment.

There is no firm timetable, just optimism that Kelley will be back to help Seattle's bullpen sooner rather than later.

"It's a significant step to get on the mound and face hitters especially out here on the field versus in the cage or something," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "He really looked good today."

Kelley made his major league debut two years ago, earning a spot on the Mariners roster thanks to his mid-90s fastball and biting slider. He didn't allow a run in his first six appearances in the majors and was on the way to a stellar rookie season before a strained oblique muscle put him on the disabled list.

Feeling he needed to get back on the mound immediately, Kelley now says he likely returned too soon. He struggled the remainder of the season.

Learning from that experience, Kelley was honest with the team medical staff last June when that all-too-familiar discomfort first showed up in his elbow. He also had major elbow surgery when he was a freshman at Austin Peay.

Kelly underwent surgery on Sept. 1 and what doctors found was promising. The previously repaired ligament in his right elbow was fine. What doctors found was some fraying and wearing at another spot in his elbow. That damage was fixed and Kelley was given a new prognosis. Instead of seeing the mound again in 2012, he could throw this season.

Kelley said his rehab assignment will be like a "shortened spring training." He could be headed for Double-A West Tenn or possibly Class A High Desert in the California League.

What Seattle wants to try and avoid is the cold weather that has hampered closer David Aardsma as he continues to recover from offseason hip surgery. Aardsma has been hampered by forearm stiffness, due in part to pitching in chilly weather for Triple-A Tacoma.

Aardsma said the stiffness is not much different from what he might experience during the middle of spring training. The Mariners are shutting down the right-hander for a few more days to see if the discomfort gets better.

He's hoping to throw a bullpen this weekend.

"It was just coming on a little bit," Aardsma said. "It's one of those things that crept up a little bit. I wasn't too bad and then it got a little tighter and tighter."