"Second baseman Brian Roberts will continue his rehabilitation assignment Monday at Double-A Bowie and could rejoin the Orioles by late this week.

Roberts, who hasn't played a game with the Orioles since April 9 because of a herniated disk in his back, was originally hoping to return by Aug. 1, but barring a setback, he'll beat that estimate by more than a week.

Interim manager Juan Samuel spoke to Roberts on Saturday, and the two-time All-Star told him that he needs about 15 more at-bats before returning to the Orioles' lineup. Roberts even joked that he was going to try to talk his way into the Orioles' lineup Monday for the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, but Samuel made it clear that's not going to happen.

"That's his wish, but obviously we have to wait and see how he's feeling after that," Samuel said. "He's missed a lot of time, and we got a little bit over two months left, so the league is very advanced. You'd hate to see him come in and try to force everything just because he wants to be here and end up having a major, major setback. In a way, he's going into spring training right now. This is kind of his spring training. The at-bats that he did not get in spring training, he's trying to get them here."

Roberts went 1-for-4 on Saturday for the Gulf Coast League Orioles, leaving him 9-for-19 (.474) in six games at that level. He's now expected to play four or five games for the Double-A Bowie Baysox before the Orioles decide how to proceed."