Yankees catcher Jorge Posada was forced out of the starting lineup on Saturday after feeling soreness in his surgically repaired right shoulder. Both Posada and manager Joe Girardi called the move precautionary. "It's a little bump in the road," said Posada. "I'm not concerned about it. It's going to be fine." Posada will not throw for at least two days after feeling the unusual soreness on Saturday morning.

Noah Lowry probably will not be ready by the start of the season after experiencing elbow pain, according to a team official who spoke to Giants' manager Bruce Bochy on Wednesday evening. He hasn't been healthy since August of 2007.

Houston's Darin Erstad suffered a small fracture near his right eye during workouts on Sunday, but has been cleared to participate in most baseball activities. "A ball kicked funny off the grass and caught me in the cheekbone," he said. "It was just a line drive, and I went to catch it. Well, I missed it." He participated in some drills on Monday with the team. "I've been hit in the face before," he said. "It's no big deal."

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has a sore right hamstring, but expects to resume running on Monday. Jeter skipped the team's running drills on Sunday. "It's no big deal," Jeter said. "It's really not an issue." He also said that the soreness won't affect his training for next month's World Baseball Classic. "It's not a pull. It's not a strain," manager Joe Girardi said. "It's a little sore. Obviously we're going to watch him and make sure he's ready."

Mike Hampton's irregular heartbeat has cleared up without a procedure and the Houston pitcher is headed back to spring training sooner than expected. A test Monday in Houston showed that his heartbeat had returned to normal after a physical two days earlier revealed a minor irregularity.

Astros pitcher Mike Hampton left the team's camp with an irregular heartbeat, and is headed back to Houston for treatment. Hampton was to be examined Monday by team physician Dr. Jim Muntz and will soon undergo a procedure that corrects his heartbeat with an electrical current.

Brewers third basemen Bill Hall is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks because of a partial tear in his left calf. Milwaukee said Hall was hurt Thursday while conditioning on his own. Hall batted .225 and had 15 home runs and 55 RBIs in 128 games last season.

Rays reliever Chad Bradford will be sidelined for three to four months after undergoing elbow surgery, the team said on Monday. After feeling discomfort in his elbow this offseason, Bradford told the team and eventually visited Dr. James Andrews in Alabama. Tampa Bay did add a number of arms to their bullpen this offseason, which should help soften the blow. "One of the things that was most important for us going into this winter was to have a number of candidates for the bullpen," vice president Andrew Friedman said. "Injuries happen; they're part of the game. That was an area that we felt like we had some exposure early in the winter, so we aggressively addressed that, in our mind, and we feel like we've got a lot of fairly capable candidates and some very good pitchers who won't make our team."

The Mets' top prospect, Fernando Martinez, has been shut down after straining his right elbow while playing for the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Series. Doctors at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, where Martinez was examined Friday, told him to rest for three weeks before beginning a throwing program.