Jair Jurrjens (rib cage) could pitch in the Orioles' Grapefruit League finale on Saturday. Jurrjens was hit in the ribs by a line drive on Wednesday, but X-rays came back negative. While the 27-year-old is expected to begin the season with Triple-A Norfolk, he could eventually be an option for the major league rotation.

X-rays taken Thursday morning on Jair Jurrjens' rib cage showed no fracture of any kind. Jurrjens took a line drive off his ribs during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game. He's still sore but expects to return to a mound in some form over the weekend. The right-hander will open the year in Triple-A.

Jair Jurrjens had X-rays on his rib cage Thursday. Jurrjens was struck with a line drive Wednesday during a Grapefruit League game. He told reporters on Thursday afternoon that he was still "very sore" and could barely even sit down. The right-hander is ticketed for Triple-A Norfolk no matter what the X-rays show.

Jair Jurrjens left his start Wednesday after being hit with a line drive in the second inning. Jurrjens was struck in the lower back by a Thomas Neal liner and exited the game favoring his right leg. The 27-year-old wasn't going to make the Orioles rotation out of spring anyway, so the shortened start doesn't do much to affect his status going forward. He'll likely begin the 2013 regular season at Triple-A Norfolk.

Jair Jurrjens shut down the Rays for five innings in relief to earn a win Friday. Jurrjens has no opt-out clause this spring, so the Orioles almost surely will send him down and let him continue to progress in Triple-A. While today's outing was nice, he entered with a 7.27 ERA and a 3.6 K/BB ratio in 8 2/3 innings.

The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly reports that Jair Jurrjens can't exercise the opt-out clause in his contract until June 15. Jurrjens won't make the rotation out of spring training, but the Orioles will have plenty of time to evaluate his progress at Triple-A. The righty is looking to get his career back on track after posting a 6.89 ERA over just 48 1/3 innings last season.

Jair Jurrjens allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief work Tuesday against the Blue Jays. Jurrjens allowed five hits and walked two. He's struggled in back-to-back outings, giving him a 9.53 spring ERA. There's still a long way to go in March, but it seems highly unlikely that he'll make the Orioles.

Jair Jurrjens walked three and allowed three runs -- two earned -- in an inning versus the Twins on Thursday. Jurrjens showed a bit more velocity than expected in his debut last week, but he was off mechanically today and barely made it through the first. He really can't afford any more sloppy outings if he hopes to make the Orioles out of spring training. Most likely, he'll need to go down to Triple-A in April and impress there.

Jair Jurrjens started and allowed one run in two innings Sunday in the Orioles' 5-4 win over a Blue Jays split-squad. Jurrjens hit 93 mph on the gun, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko, but it sounds like he was more consistently at 89-91 mph. He'll probably need to pitch in the low-90s consistently in order to be of any use to the Orioles.

Jair Jurrjens threw a successful 45-pitch bullpen session on Sunday in Orioles' camp. Jurrjens agreed to a minor league deal with the Orioles this week after a pre-signing physical created some concerns over the condition of his right knee. However, the 27-year-old recently declined an invitation to pitch in the World Baseball Classic and said he expects to be ready for the start of Grapefruit League games.