FORT MYERS, Fla. -- When Tsuyoshi Wada signed his two-year contract with the Orioles this past offseason, he probably hoped his first spring with the organization would have gone a bit more smoothly.

The 31-year-old lefty has yet to make his official Grapefruit League debut, pushed back because of elbow inflammation that he first started dealing with in late February.

Wada has been making slow and steady progress. A cortisone shot seems to have helped and he emerged from a Wednesday simulated game very encouraged about how he felt.