Manager Bob Melvin said Blackburn (forearm) will be shut down from throwing for 10 days, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.
Forearm tightness prompted Blackburn to undergo an MRI on Thursday, though fortunately the tests revealed only a strain. He'll take some time off before resuming a throwing program, which will force him to open the season on the shelf. That said, given how stretched out he was before suffering the injury, Blackburn shouldn't need too much to get up to speed once he's able to resume throwing. In the meantime, Daniel Gossett appears to be the favorite to open the season in the rotation in his place.