BASEBALL / SPRING TRAINING REPORT : Murphy to Rockies; Stewart Sidelined

Dale Murphy was released from his minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday and signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Rockies.

Murphy, 37, is a seven-time All-Star and two-time most valuable player with 398 career home runs. He is 27th on the career home run list and fourth among active players, one behind Andre Dawson of the Boston Red Sox.

“We needed an experienced bat off the bench who might give us a little power,” Rockies General Manager Bob Gebhard said. “I felt this offered us a chance to get somebody who might turn on the ball and hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning of a game.”

Murphy came to the Phillies with pitcher Tommy Greene from Atlanta in an August 1990 trade for Jeff Parrett, Jim Vatcher and Victor Rosario. Murphy had broken into the majors with the Braves.

Murphy played in only 18 games last year because of knee surgery. He hit .161 with two home runs.

“I can’t turn back the clock and be like it was 10 years ago,” when he was a National League MVP with the Braves. “I’m healthy. I still feel like I can play and I want to play.”

Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Dave Stewart, 36, will be sidelined for four to six weeks after suffering a torn flexor muscle in his right elbow. Stewart, who was scheduled to start Toronto’s second game of the season, was put on the 15-day disabled list.

The Blue Jays announced that left-hander Al Leiter, who has been plagued by arm troubles and has pitched nine innings in the major leagues since 1989, will start in Stewart’s place.

Former Cy Young Award winner Mark Davis was cut by the Atlanta Braves as they got down to the 25-man roster limit.

Officially, the Braves designated Davis for assignment. By dropping the left-hander, it secured spots on the pitching staff for another former Cy Young Award winner, Steve Bedrosian, and rookie sensation Greg McMichael. The Braves are responsible for Davis’ $3.25-million salary in 1993, the final season of a $13 million, four-year contract. The Royals, who traded Davis to Atlanta, committed themselves to a $1-million payment to Atlanta as part of the deal.

Davis, who won the Cy Young Award in 1989 with the San Diego Padres, had a 2.16 earned-run average in 16 innings this spring with 18 strikeouts.

David Wells, a left-handed pitcher waived this week by Toronto, signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers. Wells, 29, was 7-9 with two saves and a 5.40 ERA for the Blue Jays last season. He pitched in 41 games, 27 of them starts.

Wells, a left-hander, did not pitch in the AL playoffs. But in the World Series, he relieved in four games and did not give up a run in 4 1/3 innings.

Wells is 47-37 with a 3.78 ERA lifetime. He began his career with Toronto in 1987.

The San Diego Padres trimmed their roster by cutting five players and putting catcher Mike Scioscia on the 15-day disabled list. Scioscia, the longtime Dodger, was put on the disabled list retroactive to March 29 with a shoulder injury that is preventing him from throwing at full strength. . . . Edgar Martinez, the defending American League batting champion, will miss six weeks after pulling his left hamstring while trying to steal a base in Seattle’s 4-1 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday. . . . St. Louis starting pitcher Joe Magrane pitched to only one batter before leaving with a stiff back in the Cardinals’ 5-3 victory over the Phillies.