It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.

Eflin got through Wednesday’s bullpen session without any issues and has been cleared to take the ball this weekend against the Angels. The 31-year-old righty has been out since early April recovering from a low-grade lat strain. He’s worthy of a roster spot in deeper mixed leagues, even if he doesn’t offer astronomical strikeout upside.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters the plan is for Eflin to return this weekend to start against the Angels. The 31-year-old righty fired four scoreless innings on Sunday in a minor league rehab start for High-A Aberdeen and could potentially be cleared to rejoin Baltimore’s rotation following his next throwing session. He’s been out since early April recovering from a low-grad lat strain.

Eflin expressed optimism that he’ll be ready to return to the big leagues if he gets his workload built up to roughly 60 pitches in his forthcoming rehab outing. He’ll need to be re-evaluated by Baltimore’s medical staff before being cleared to return, but it sounds like there’s a chance he’s ready to take the ball later next week in the big leagues.