Orioles’ Julio Has Strained Forearm

Baltimore Oriole reliever Jorge Julio has been sidelined because of a strained right forearm, an injury that could force him to sit out the regular-season opener and hinders his chances of winning the closer’s job out of spring training.

Julio will be put on a rehabilitative throwing program the next three weeks. The Orioles hope to have the right-hander back on the mound in the middle of their exhibition schedule, although there are no guarantees.

“This will set him back, but there’s still a fair chance at this point that he could be ready for opening day,” Oriole executive vice president Jim Beattie said.

Julio dealt with the injury last season, when he recorded 22 saves in 26 chances and was 2-5 with a 4.57 earned-run average.

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After six months of deliberation, Commissioner Bud Selig has given his approval to former agent Jeff Moorad’s becoming a part owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Moorad and the team’s managing partner, Ken Kendrick, revealed Selig’s decision while watching the Diamondbacks’ first full-squad spring training workout Tuesday.

The Diamondbacks raised eyebrows among other owners when they proposed making a man who was one of the most prominent player agents in the game a partner.

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Placido Polanco spent his first day of spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies. He’d rather be with another team on opening day.

Polanco, a versatile infielder who has been a full-time starter in 2 1/2 years in Philadelphia, is coming off his best season. He batted .298 with a career-high 17 home runs and drove in 55 runs in 126 games. But the Phillies plan to start Chase Utley every day at second base and use Polanco in a reserve role.

“It’s a situation I can’t control,” Polanco said.

The Phillies considered trading Polanco last season but couldn’t complete a deal.

Polanco signed a $4.6-million, one-year contract after surprising the Phillies by accepting arbitration in December.

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Baseball players signed an agreement calling for international drug-testing rules during a World Cup tournament next year.

Owners and the players’ association hope to launch a 16-team World Cup tournament during spring training next year.

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Detroit Tiger reliever Ugueth Urbina reported to spring training less than a week after his kidnapped mother was rescued in Venezuela after five months in captivity. Urbina didn’t speak to reporters upon his arrival.... Jerry Coleman, the longtime voice of the San Diego Padres, was chosen as this year’s winner of the Ford C. Frick Award and will be inducted into the broadcasters’ wing of the Hall of Fame.