Max Scherzer won the National League Cy Young award last season despite pitching the second half with a stress fracture in his right ring finger, but that doesn't mean the injury hasn't changed the way he pitches.

The injury only bothers Scherzer when he throws his fastball, so the right-hander modified his fastball grip to take pressure off the finger. He's throwing a three-finger fastball rather than the traditional two-finger fastball.

Josh Hamilton will be sidelined following arthroscopic surgery to repair the cartilage in his left knee, according to the Texas Rangers.

Hamilton won't be able to run for six weeks, putting a potential return to the field further down the road.

There is no damage to Hamilton's ACL, which was surgically repaired last June.

Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton went to Houston on Sunday, facing the possibility of another knee surgery in his bid to return to the majors.

Hamilton will be examined Monday by Dr. Walt Lowe, who performed reconstructive surgery on the former AL MVP's left knee last June.

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Michael Bourn is expected to miss four weeks after he suffered a broken finger while catching a football, manager Buck Showalter said Saturday.

The 34-year-old Bourn, who was signed to a minor league deal Monday, was injured after Friday's workout. His status for Opening Day is unsure.

Garrett Richards opted for stem cell treatment before undergoing Tommy John surgery and the right-hander is back to throwing 98-mph fastballs without pain.

Richards had a tear that ran lengthwise along the middle of his UCL, a rare injury as opposed to the standard tear across the ligament.

"I feel as good as I ever have throwing a baseball," Richards said.

While clinical studies have shown great success with those who use orthobiologics, they are not yet a guaranteed remedy for elbow injuries in baseball.

"I truly think this kind of treatment has significant potential," said Dr. Neal ElAttrache. "There's no question biologics are here to stay and biologic manipulation is the frontier of treatment in what we're doing. The problem, as I see it, is that the marketing and clinical use has far exceeded the science behind it."

Josh Hamilton had his surgically reconstructed left knee examined on Wednesday after he experienced discomfort during the Texas Rangers' first full-squad spring training workout.

Hamilton felt stiffness while doing some running drills in the outfield grass during the workout. He is with the Rangers this spring under a Minor League contract.

"We want to see what Dr. Lowe has to say," Rangers assistant general manager Mike Daly said. "We want to make sure Josh is healthy. Our trainers connected with Dr. Lowe and he requested to look at Josh."

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson says he could miss two to three weeks of Spring Training due to a right calf strain he sustained on Friday.

Donaldson said he had been feeling "phenomenal" in prior workouts, but he felt something grab in his muscle while running sprints. The three-time All-Star was walking with the assistance of crutches in the clubhouse on Sunday to take pressure off his leg, and he expects to remain on them for a few days.

"It's something that we don't necessarily want to push too much, just for the simple fact that we have a little extra time with Spring Training right now," Donaldson said. "I'm just making sure that whenever I step back on the field, it's ready to go and I'm ready to be able to push it."

Michael Brantley only played in 11 games last season, but the Cleveland Indians know they need him if they want to make another trip to the World Series.

Brantley has had two shoulder surgeries since injuring himself while diving to try to catch a triple off the bat of Aaron Hicks against the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 22, 2015. He will not play in the first Cactus League game on Feb. 25, according to Terry Francona and his debut is expected later in the spring.

The outfielder didn't make his spring debut until March 19 last season. Two days later his shoulder started to hurt and that was pretty much it for the remainder of the year.

"You can have a great process and a bad outcome," Chris Antonetti said. "I think that's what probably happened last year. Michael, our medical staff, all the doctors were incredibly thoughtful and diligent going through rehab process.

"Michael's body just didn't respond so we needed to make an adjustment."

The Indians won't unveil Brantley in 2017 until they're convinced his shoulder is as close to perfection as possible.

"We're going to do it right so he can have his best chance at being successful," said Francona.

Alex Reyes has a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and will get a second opinion, but season-ending Tommy John surgery is likely for the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, according to a source.

Reyes was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Tuesday afternoon.

John Mozeliak said the Cardinals will wait until Wednesday morning before making any announcement about the next step.

"I'm concerned about Reyes. Any time you send someone to get an MRI, it's concerning. I'm not going to speculate what the MRI is going to say. We'll save that for tomorrow," Mozeliak said.

Reyes, 22, made his major league debut Aug. 9 and was 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA in five starts and seven relief appearances.

The Atlanta Braves aren't sure whether Sean Rodriguez will return this season after he undergoes shoulder surgery.

Rodriguez hurt his shoulder when a vehicle he was driving collided with a stolen police car in Miami on Jan. 28. His wife, Giselle, and two of their children were hospitalized with injuries, but they were not life-threatening.

The Braves signed Rodriguez to a two-year, $11.5 million contract in November.

"He's going to be out indefinitely," John Coppolella said. "We hope he comes back as soon as possible. We're not sure yet if it's realistic that will be for the 2017 season. We don't have enough information."