PHOENIX — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Zack Greinke is likely to begin the season on the disabled list because of a fractured right rib he injured while playing pickup basketball in the offseason.
The former AL Cy Young winner is expected to be out two to four weeks. Initial X-rays were negative, but an MRI exam Monday revealed a hairline fracture in one rib and a bruise in a second.
Greinke, traded from Kansas City to Milwaukee in the winter, said he was hurt when he went up for a rebound and fell on his side.
"Everyone always told me not to do it because I was going to get hurt," Greinke said. "It finally caught up to me."
The Brewers open the season March 31 in Cincinnati.
"I'm feeling good but it's not worth it," Greinke said. "Hopefully it won't be too long. I don't want to miss any time with the team, especially at the beginning. Until it heals there's nothing you really can do. You just need to let it heal."
Greinke had made two starts this spring, the latest on Sunday when he allowed a run on five hits in two innings against Texas. Overall, the right-hander gave up one run on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 31?3 innings.
Milwaukee got Greinke as it tries to load up for a run at its first NL Central title. He won the 2009 AL Cy Young award with Kansas City, going 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts.
He struggled in 2010, finishing 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA before being dealt to Milwaukee along with Yuniesky Betancourt for a package of four prospects.
MORNEAU PLAYS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE JULY: At Fort Myers, Fla., Minnesota Twins star Justin Morneau hit a three-run double in a spring training "B" game on Tuesday, the first time he's played since a concussion sidelined him in July. The 2006 AL MVP was at first base a day after he received medical clearance from his doctor following an hour-long conversation.
"We figured now is as good a time as any to see if my body was ready for this," Morneau said. "I'll have a day off tomorrow. Then I'll come back and get some more work.
"I'm not more at risk than anybody else with a fastball to the head or anything else. That was kind of what I needed to hear," he said.
Facing the Pittsburgh Pirates on a back field at the Lee County Sports Complex in a morning game, Morneau grounded into a fielder's choice in his first at-bat. He then drove in three runs with a double down the line.
Morneau said he's happy to finally take this important step, but he's still mixing caution with his optimism.
"When I see myself in the lineup on April 1, I think that will be when I'm 100 percent," he said. "I just don't want to get totally excited. It's great to be out there, don't get me wrong. But I've been through some setbacks along the way."
AGENT CHARGED WITH STEALING FROM MORALES: A South Florida sports agent has been charged with stealing more than $305,000 from Anaheim Angels first baseman Kendry Morales. Coral Springs police report that 31-year-old Rodney Fernandez turned himself in Monday on a grand theft charge.
Authorities say Fernandez was working for Hendricks Sports Management between 2008 and 2009 when he conducted numerous financial transactions from Morales' business account. Coral Springs police began an investigation after the ballplayer's attorney contacted them and told them that Fernandez didn't have permission to remove money from the account.
Police say Hendricks Sports Management fired Fernandez.
Fernandez was being held Tuesday on $10,000 bail.
ALI MAKES VISIT TO WHITE SOX TEAM: At Glendale, Ariz., Muhammad Ali visited with the Chicago White Sox at their spring training facility on Tuesday to help spread the word about his charity organization.
More than 100 people packed the White Sox clubhouse for the workshop about Ali's foundation, Athletes for Hope. Ali, whose long battle with Parkinson's disease has limited his physical activity, was joined by his wife and sister-in-law.
The visit came on the 40th anniversary of Ali's famed first bout with Joe Frazier.
First baseman Paul Konerko, who met Ali at the Civil Rights Game in Cincinnati in 2009, said any opportunity to be around such an influential figure is always special.
"Any time you get in the same room as a guy like that it's kind of cool," Konerko said.
Ivan Blumberg, the chief executive officer of the foundation, spoke for 30 minutes about the goal of the organization: to empower athletes to do more philanthropic work around their communities by helping identify causes they care about and the best ways to help.
"It's a message the White Sox believe in very strongly," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "No matter who you, how you live or what your means are, you can always try to help other people."
A long line formed afterward as players, coaches and team staff waited for pictures with Ali. Pierzynski posed with his son, Austin.
"He has no idea who he is now, but 10 or 15 years from now he'll hear about it and he can always say he has a picture with him and got to meet him," Pierzynski said.
Ali raised his fists for some of the pictures, but sat in a chair and wore sunglasses while he was in the clubhouse. His wife helped adjust his head when he slumped at one point during the photo session.
General manager Kenny Williams presented Ali with a White Sox No. 40 jersey to commemorate the occasion, "CHAMP" lettered across the back.
GARAGIOLA JR. IS NEW DISCIPLINARIAN: Joe Garagiola Jr. is replacing Bob Watson as Major League Baseball's disciplinarian, and Los Angeles Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng is joining the commissioner's office to work as an aide to Joe Torre.
Ng and former Arizona Diamondbacks assistant GM Peter Woodfork were hired Tuesday as MLB senior vice presidents for baseball operations. They will report to Joe Torre, hired Feb. 26 by Commissioner Bud Selig as executive vice president of baseball operations.
Garagiola, Arizona's former GM, was given the new title of senior vice president of standards and on-field operations. He had been senior vice president of baseball operations since 2005.
He will decide discipline for on-field infractions, such as beanballs. Watson, who had held that job since 2002, retired after last season.
Garagiola also will be responsible for pace of game, uniform policy and stadium configurations.
Ng, among the highest-ranking women in baseball, was assistant GM of the New York Yankees from 1998-01 and had been the Dodgers' assistant GM the last nine years. She also has worked for the Chicago White Sox and the American League.
Woodfork worked for MLB's labor relations department for three years, spent 2003-05 as Boston's director of baseball operations and assistant director of player development, then joined the Diamondbacks.
BASEBALL NOTES