Tennessee received bad news recently when its ace and projected first round pick Blade Tidwell was shutdown due to shoulder soreness.

Tidwell didn’t pitch much in the fall due to soreness which carried over into January. The soreness stems from stiffness he was experiencing while throwing.

There isn’t currently a timetable for when Tidwell will take the mound this season, but Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello does expect him to pitch at some point.

“Any time you get looked at by the doctors, there’s usually a little grace period in there where there’s inactivity, so when he picks activity back up, we’ll see where he’s at with the trainer and the doctor, and then create a new throwing progression from there,” Vitello told the media Wednesday. “With all these guys since we’ve been here, the doctors need to clear them and then my personal belief or the way I want to do it is that they’re going to have to reach certain marks or certain steps along the way before we’re going to use them against an opponent, so there will be no rush.

“His teammates and more than anyone, Blade himself would like to get out there as soon as possible. For right now, patience will be key.”

Tidwell led all Tennessee pitchers last season with 18 starts. He went 10-3 with a 3.74 ERA and finished second on the team with 90 strikeouts and 98.2 innings pitched. His 10 victories were the second most by a freshman in program history.

The injury leaves big shoes to be filled within Frank Anderson’s pitching rotation. Several Vols are in the mix to take Tidwell’s spot in the rotation until he returns.

“I think Camden Sewell solidified himself as a Swiss army knife for us that we can use in a lot of different ways due to his experience,” Vitello said. “Chase Burns is this year’s version of Blade Tidwell. In that, he has advanced stuff, but also an advanced mentality and work ethic. Chase Dollander is a guy that can do a lot of different things for us as well. He’s got good stuff and throws strikes, so he’s an option. Drew Beam is a freshman and Hollis Fanning is a redshirt freshman. Two guys that don’t have quite as much experience as a guy like Sewell, but the one thing they do that we like a lot when they get out there is throw strikes.

“With the beginning of the season and not having a lot of guys, even the ideal starter built up for a pitch count to go seven or eight innings, you might look to slice up games anyway you can. I’m not a great analytical guy or use the word ‘opener’ a lot, but a guy who maybe starts the game, we may be looking for nine outs than nine innings. Especially at the beginning of the year.”

One possibility for Tennessee is Vanderbilt transfer Ethan Smith. The right-hander announced on Monday evening that he was transferring to the Vols after spending three seasons with the in-state rival.

In three years with the Commodores, Smith was 8-0 with a 2.78 ERA in 64.2 innings of work. Last year as a junior, he was 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA in nine appearances.

Smith’s role could vary as Vitello becomes more familiar with him after he transferred in mid-year.

“Ethan is throwing well in scrimmages,” Vitello said. “He’s only had a few opportunities, so it’s nice to see a guy that’s kind of on his own, like really all of our players are over the winter break, but come in prepared and throwing the ball well.

“The one thing he definitely has is quality off-speed pitches. You can look at that two ways. If he’s a guy out of the pen, he’s probably coming in to get us out of a jam and when you can go to quality off-speed, it really, really helps. And he’s also got experiencing closing the game and coming out of the pen in crucial situations. He knows what the league looks like and it helps to have that vision. It’s not a must to have success, but it helps.

“As he continues to get into our system a little bit more and get around our people, we can get him in conditioned shape to potentially start. I wouldn’t rule it out as an option either. For us early in the year, the definition of starter for us may be different for us than what it was for Greg Maddux.”

Smith is only a possible option for the Vols, however. Because he transferred in mid-year, Smith needs the NCAA to grant him eligibility for the upcoming season. That decision still remains up in the air.

“He transferred mid-year with extenuating circumstances and I think the NCAA is gracious to work with us and any other kid who has circumstances like his that are unique,” Vitello said. “But we’ve got to do the paperwork and get the go ahead, so I would assume before we’re too deep into the year or even before the season, we would know what the exact situation is. Until then, it’s kind of like the weather — it’s out of our control. We’ll sit back and see what happens.”

Tennessee begins its season on Feb. 18 with a three-game home series against Georgia Southern.