Brown Has Strain, May Not Be Ready for Opening Day

Kevin Brown will not see any live action until April 2 . . . at the earliest.

Brown’s opening day start against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium that day could be in jeopardy after an MRI exam of his injured right Achilles’ tendon showed a strain Saturday, rather than the tendinitis that was diagnosed the night before.

“The MRI showed a little more fluid there so we had to change that,” team physician Frank Jobe said at Dodgertown. “Whenever you see the fluid around the tendon you know that it’s been a little more injured than just an aggravation.

“It’s a little more serious than tendinitis.”

Jobe wants Brown to skip his next scheduled start, Wednesday against the New York Mets, and concentrate on rest and therapy. Instead of facing live batters, Jobe said Brown will pitch on the side in a controlled environment.

“I’m just afraid to let him get on the mound,” Jobe said, “and then have to react to a ball hit right to him and then injure it more.”

Brown pulled up lame while running to back up third base Friday night after giving up a double and was helped off the field.

Bothered by a nagging Achilles’ tendon since his first week in camp, Brown said the tendon doesn’t bother him when he’s pitching, rather, when he’s running. But Brown was still limping noticeably in the Dodger clubhouse Saturday.

“I don’t know how to interpret what’s better than what [a strain or tendinitis],” Brown said. “It’s stiff. I’m trying to stay off of it. I’m not going to do anything to go test it.”

Therapy will include icing the foot, ultrasound, whirlpool, rest and wearing a restrictive boot for the next few days to limit range of motion.

Depending upon how Brown responds to treatment, Jobe said a best-case scenario would have Brown on the mound April 2 while a worst-case scenario would have him out for a few weeks to start the season.

“Will he be ready for opening day? I don’t know the answer to that,” Jobe said. “I just have to see how he does this next week.”

“The best thing to do is to wait and see for the medical people to assess it,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said.

Said Brown: “I plan on being ready and I’m going to do everything I can between now and then to make sure that happens.”

If Brown isn’t ready, Chan Ho Park will start on opening day.

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A decision on the No. 5 spot in the Dodger rotation is coming soon.

The fifth spot comes up Tuesday against the Houston Astros and whoever starts that day will open the season as the No. 5 starter.

“Obviously, it’s a situation that is very close to having to rear its head,” Tracy said. “Knowing that [Tuesday] the 27th is there on the horizon, it’s not something that we’re looking to string out for another three or four days. It’s quite the topic of conversation.”

Ramon Martinez, 33, seems to be the front-runner as he gives the Dodgers more flexibility as a veteran. Should he falter, the Dodgers could turn to Eric Gagne. If Gagne, 25, gets the nod and fails to pan out, the Dodgers would have to turn to untested Luke Prokopec, 23, who was optioned to triple-A Las Vegas last week.

Martinez is 0-2 with a 4.00 earned-run average in five spring appearances. Gagne is 1-1 with a 2.50 ERA in five outings.

Tracy also mentioned the slim possibility of having reliever Terry Adams, who won a one-year, $2.6-million contract in arbitration, join the fray for the No. 5 spot.

Plus, left-handed Carlos Perez is still making noise about competing for the spot, though it appears he will stay behind in Vero Beach for an extended spring training after undergoing shoulder surgery in September.

Notes

Chan Ho Park, pitching to catcher Paul LoDuca rather than regular caddie Chad Kreuter, was rocked by the Baltimore Orioles in a 9-5 loss at Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. Park gave up nine runs on 11 hits in four innings, including six runs in the first. . . . Shawn Green, playing in his second Grapefruit League game since spraining his right thumb March 2, had two doubles. . . . Chris Donnels and Jeff Barry, who was informed Friday night that he would not be part of the Dodgers’ 25-man opening day roster, hit back-to-back homers. . . . The Orioles’ Cal Ripken walked twice in three plate appearances in his spring-training debut. . . . The Chicago Cubs have shown interest in right-hander Gregg Olson, who the Dodgers are trying to trade.