Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton could miss two months with arm injury

Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton could be out for two months, according to various reports.

Britton, who was placed on the disabled list for the second time this season on Saturday with left forearm discomfort, will be shut down for two weeks, but has a cautious timeline of 45-60 days to return.

Britton, who is currently at the club's spring facility in Sarasota, Fla., received a second opinion on Monday after having a pair of MRIs in Baltimore. X-rays reportedly came back negative, meaning the injury is just the forearm muscle and not structural.

"The only hard time that (doctors) gave me was saying, 'Let's take 10 days or so and not throw,' which would put me at 14 days (of rest)," Britton told MLB.com in a phone interview. "At that point, if my forearm feels good and I have no symptoms, I can start a throwing program. Anything after that is based on how I feel. There's no hard timetable because it's kind of a unique injury."

The early indication is a mid-July return for Britton, who is 5-for-5 in save opportunities this season with a 1.00 ERA. He has converted 54 save opportunities in a row, tied for second most since the save became an official statistic in 1969.

"We've been spoiled really by one of the highest levels of success maybe since, who was better than Zach last year in Oriole history?" Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Zach will be (good) again. I'm confident of that. Talking to the doctor, it's laid out. They're all in agreement for the protocol for the way the program is going to work down in Sarasota. "