Schilling will test market

Curt Schilling said Thursday that he will become a free agent after the season and won’t let that distract him during his fourth season with the Boston Red Sox.

At a brief meeting between the two Wednesday, General Manager Theo Epstein told the pitching ace that the team would not give him an extension during spring training, as Schilling had wished.

“Curt’s going to be 41, and at that age we’ve got to be a little more conservative,” Epstein said. “It doesn’t mean we don’t want him back.”

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New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez has arthritis in his neck and will be sidelined for three or four days after receiving a cortisone shot.

Hernandez left spring training and returned to New York to have his neck examined. He underwent an MRI, which did not show any disk problems.

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Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell is sending his investigators to spring training as part of his investigation into steroids use in baseball.

“I can confirm that members of my investigative staff have been, and will be, conducting interviews during spring training of various individuals who are involved in baseball,” Mitchell said.