Gagne will start season on DL

Eric Gagne will start the season on the disabled list for the Texas Rangers, a move the club is making to give the closer more time to recover from elbow and back operations.

The Rangers said Gagne hasn’t had any physical setbacks. The 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner pitched only 15 1/3 innings over the previous two seasons.

“I feel pretty good, but I think this is going to help the team,” Gagne said after throwing 15 pitches in a minor league game Thursday. “We are here to have a successful season and make the playoffs.”

This is the third consecutive season since his dominating run as the Dodgers’ closer that he’ll be on the DL before pitching.

Gagne had elbow surgery in June 2005, then another operation last April to remove a nerve from his pitching elbow. He had surgery last July to repair a herniated disk in his lower back.

Akinori Otsuka, who converted 32 of 36 save opportunities last season, will handle closing duties until Gagne returns. The move is retroactive to Wednesday, meaning he could rejoin the Rangers on April 13 for the start of a series in Seattle.

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Kenny Rogers will skip at least one regular-season start for the Detroit Tigers after being put on the 15-day disabled list because of a tired left arm.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski said Rogers was seeing a specialist and would not speculate on how long he will be out.

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Infielder Todd Walker cleared waivers, and the players’ union plans to file a grievance over his Tuesday release from the San Diego Padres.

Walker was waived a little more than a month after he won a $3.95-million salary in arbitration. Because the contract wasn’t guaranteed, the Padres will owe Walker 45 days’ termination pay -- $971,311 -- rather than the entire salary.

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Cleveland Indians ace C.C. Sabathia expects to be ready for opening day despite a bruised left forearm. He was hit by a line drive off the bat of Toronto’s Reed Johnson on Wednesday.

Indians Manager Eric Wedge said Jake Westbrook, the No. 2 starter, would start Monday against the Chicago White Sox if Sabathia is unable to pitch.

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Dan Miceli’s bid to win Tampa Bay’s closer job ended when the 36-year-old right-hander was released. The move will cost the Devil Rays $850,000 -- Miceli’s $650,000 salary for 2007, as well as a $200,000 buyout of a $1-million option for 2008.

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George Steinbrenner’s daughter is asking a divorce court judge to separate her interests in the family’s business empire from her estranged husband, who until their February breakup seemed on track to take charge of the New York Yankees.

Divorce papers filed by Jennifer Lynn Steinbrenner Swindal in Tampa, Fla., this week also caused concern about Steve Swindal’s group bid to operate thoroughbred racing in New York.