Orioles closer Ryan Helsley and starter Dean Kremer are showing improvement in their recoveries from elbow and quadriceps injuries, respectively. Meanwhile, the club is waiting for more information on infielder Jordan Westburg’s follow-up appointment on his right elbow.

Westburg is shut down again due to the discomfort that increased along with his progression. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection in spring training.

Helsley hasn’t pitched since April 28 because of his stint on the family emergency medical list and inflammation in the elbow. He’s in Baltimore and did some running on the field.

“It’s feeling good,” he said. “Just felt like a little stiffness a couple weeks ago and when I went home for a few days, I was hoping that it would feel better. I’ve been feeling it for a couple weeks and only threw once in eight, nine days, and it wasn’t really feeling any better, so I knew something probably wasn’t quite right.

“Just had a little bit of swelling and stiffness in there, so I’ve just got to wait for that to go down. But all the scans and doctor reviews were really encouraging, so that’s good.”

Helsley stayed away from upper-body workouts for about a week, but he hopes to start throwing “in the foreseeable future.” He hasn’t received a cortisone injection.

“Just a little bit of swelling,” said Helsley, who has a 2.53 ERA and seven saves in 12 appearances. “Couldn’t really explain it. It just kind of happened, but feeling better and hopefully keep trending in the right direction.”

The team will discuss whether to send Helsley on a rehab assignment. It seems likely given how long he’s been inactive.

“I would say so,” Helsley said. “I think I’m almost at two weeks since I pitched in a game, and I might try to get them to let me throw a couple lives here first so I’m not gone for a week or however long they want me to get out there. But I’ll probably need at least a couple.”

The beginning of June is a realistic goal, but Helsley could return quicker depending in when he starts the assignment.

“I think in a perfect world I would have loved to be back at the 15-day mark, but pitchers’ arm injuries are always tough and always take longer than you think,” he said.

Rico Garcia earned his third save yesterday and has allowed just one run and one hit in 18 innings. The Orioles don’t have a full-time closer in Helsley’s absence, but Garcia seems to be the preference if he’s available.

“Man, he’s been awesome,” Helsley said. “I’ve loved watching him go out there and compete in those high-leverage situations. He doesn’t back down from anybody and he just attacks guys, which is what you want late in games. You want to force the other guys to beat you and that’s what he does, and he attacks. He’s been so fun to watch and he’s been great for us so far.”

Kremer made two starts after the Orioles recalled him and they put him on the IL retroactive to April 20 with the quad strain.

“He’s trending in the right direction,” said manager Craig Albernaz. “Luckily, he’s still able to throw a baseball and keep his arm moving, so that’s gonna hopefully, I wouldn’t say speed up where he’s gonna be, but when a pitcher goes down with a lower-body injury, you want to make sure his arm is still in condition to go out and throw at least 80 pitches or whatever it is.

“There still might be a little bit of build up to it because you don’t want to overtake his quad, but Dean’s trending in the right direction.”

Tyler Wells was optioned on May 2 and he’s made one appearance with Triple-A Norfolk, allowing an unearned run in 1 1/3 innings on May 8. The Tides are off tonight.

“We just want him to keep on being Tyler Wells,” Albernaz said. “Keep throwing strikes, keep being efficient with his pitches. And that’s it.”

Asked about Wells’ usage since leaving the Orioles, Albernaz smiled and said, “I have no idea. I’m managing this team up here.”

Nicole Sherry, the Orioles’ head groundskeeper for the past 20 years, is leaving the organization to accept a job as assistant secretary of agriculture plant industries for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, per multiple sources.

Sherry became the second woman to hold the job in the majors.