AROUND THE MAJORS

Cincinnati Red All-Star shortstop Barry Larkin will be out at least four to six weeks because of a perforated disk in his neck that needs surgery. . . . Pete Rose violated the lifetime ban he agreed to nearly nine years ago when he gave an impromptu motivational speech to nearly 100 minor leaguers, including his son, Pete Jr., on a practice field about 50 yards from a batting cage recently named for him in Sarasota, Fla. The Reds may be fined as a result of Rose’s speech, a baseball official told the Associated Press. . . . The Seattle Mariners agreed to contract terms with Cuban defector Francisco Santiesteban, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound catcher considered one of the top Cuban prospects. Santiesteban, 22, defected in Colombia last July and will be assigned to double-A Orlando of the Southern League. . . . Hall of Famer and former Chicago Cub broadcaster Jack Brickhouse, 82, has improved after brain surgery to remove a tumor, and is listed in fair and stable condition. . . . Mo Vaughn said he refused the Boston Red Sox’s request that he undergo an alcohol evaluation. He accused the team of using his arrest on drunken-driving charges as an excuse not to sign him. . . . Cleveland traded injured right-hander Ben McDonald back to Milwaukee Brewers for left-handed prospect Mark Watson. . . . The New York Yankees finished their investigation of the incident between Hideki Irabu and a Japanese reporter and said it “has been handled internally.”