Garciaparra Hurt, Will Miss 2 Weeks

Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra will miss at least two weeks of spring training because of an injured right wrist.

The two-time defending AL batting champion hopes to be ready for opening day, but if rest doesn’t fix the problem, he didn’t rule out surgery.

Garciaparra and team physician Bill Morgan traced the injury back to Sept. 25, 1999, when Baltimore’s Al Reyes hit Garciaparra on the wrist with a pitch.

Garciaparra played all of 2000 with only mild discomfort and led the AL with a .372 average.

Last Sunday he had his normal spring training workout. Then he went to bed and, by morning, the wrist was swollen and he couldn’t throw a ball or swing a bat.

He had an MRI and the injury was diagnosed as a split tendon with inflammation.

Garciaparra is expected to wear a removable cast for one to two weeks and take anti-inflammatory medication.

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Frank Thomas ended his nearly weeklong boycott without any changes to his contract--verbal, written or any other form.

Responding to published reports, Thomas and White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf issued a statement denying they’d reached a verbal agreement to change the “diminished skills” clause in Thomas’ contract.

There were no agreements on any other clauses, either.

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Former Boston Red Sox infielder Manny Alexander won’t be charged with steroid possession after a Boston court ruled there was insufficient evidence for a criminal complaint.

Boston police found the steroids in Alexander’s Mercedes-Benz last June 30 while Alexander was on the road with the team in Chicago. Alexander had loaned the car to a former Red Sox batboy, Carlos Cowart.

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Pittsburgh Pirate first baseman Kevin Young was struck on the right elbow by a foul ball during a demonstration of how the new strike zone will be enforced and will be sidelined for four or five days. . . . Milwaukee left-hander Valerio De Los Santos agreed to a one-year contract. . . . Geoff Blum and Britt Reames were among five players who agreed to one-year contract with the Montreal Expos. The Expos also signed infielder Tomas De La Rosa and pitchers Scott Downs and Scott Strickland.