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PEORIA, Ariz. - Seattle Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma will not throw for four to six weeks because of an injury to the middle finger of his right hand. Iwakuma reported for his physical Wednesday at Mariners spring training headquarters and had a splint over the finger. Hes been diagnosed with a strained tendon and will be re-examined by a hand specialist in Arizona in three weeks. The injury isnt expected to require surgery, at least for now, but hes likely out for all of spring training. Iwakuma said his finger got caught as he tried to retrieve a ball in some netting while working out in Southern California on Jan. 20. "I knew it was injured. I didnt think it was a major thing," Iwakuma said through team translator Antony Suzuki. "I rested my finger for about a week and started playing catch again, long toss. I thought it was good but then the pain didnt go away." Along with ace Felix Hernandez, Iwakuma has given Seattle a formidable duo at the top of its starting rotation. He went 14-6 with a 2.66 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 2013. "Luckily, this does not appear to be a serious injury," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement. "It is a setback for Kuma, but we are confident that he will quickly overcome the missed time and be able to rejoin our rotation early in the regular season." Iwakuma said he wants to be ready for the season but isnt sure it will happen. "To be honest, very disappointed with what happened," Iwakuma said. "We have to go from here on. I look forward to helping the team in any way and I look forward to coming back as soon as possible, too." . Only it wasnt the extended right pad of his old teammate Jonathan Bernier early in the final frame, it was James Reimer, who stole a night that was supposed to belong to the former King. . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/r ... ls-jersey/. Meeks has agreed to a $19.5 million, three-year deal with Detroit, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday night. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because free agents cant sign contracts until the leagues moratorium ends July 10, also said Cartier Martin had agreed to a one-year contract with the rebuilding franchise. . Fielder has been out with a herniated disk in his neck, and surgery was recommended after a follow-up exam and another scan Thursday with Dr. .ca MLB Power Rankings, the third consecutive week that the As have held top spot and the third straight week that they have been one ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays.TORONTO - Its been just over two months since Masai Ujiri aggressively opened trade season in the NBA, pulling off a blockbuster seven-player deal with Sacramento, but the Raptors general manager opted to employ a different tactic Thursday afternoon, as the deadline came and went without much noise. "Its weird with the trade deadline," Ujiri said, shortly after 4pm et, one hour removed from the deadline itself. "We all get caught up in it, were working the phones and doing all kinds of stuff." "Nothing really significant got done but its always a tedious time because youre always trying to see what makes sense for your team, now and in the future." It wasnt for a lack of effort - Ujiri and company had contemplated a number of larger scale trade scenarios - but ultimately the Raptors core was left untouched, their roster kept intact, apart from a last minute tinker to the back end of the bench. "For us in our positions, its always tough to stand pat," the Raptors GM admitted. "There are things that are tempting and you do the exercise in your mind, on paper, you try to picture it [but] you dont know until its actually put in there and they begin to play." For Ujiri, the evaluation process has been muddled by his teams unexpected success since the Rudy Gay trade in December and the porous Eastern Conference in which theyve experienced said success. The result of that appraisal was somewhat inconclusive. Ujiri is still unsure what he has in the Easts surprising third seed but their recent play - and most importantly the chemistry theyve developed - has piqued his interest enough to buy them more time. "You pray and you hope for chemistry and I think we found it a little bit," he stressed. "We said we were going to give these players a platform and they would dictate where we go and to be fair, I think weve also tried to live up to our part of the bargain here and they have, too." Simply put, the right deal wasnt out there, not one that would satisfy Ujiris long-term goals while also maintaining what they have in place now. Ujiri is confident most of the discussion that has taken place over the last week can be revisited over the summer, if need be. At that point, he should have a greater idea of whats available but also how much his own assets are worth. One of those players, soon-to-be free agent point guard Kyle Lowry, has been the focus of trade speculation and will headline Ujiris offseason decision-making process. "Obviously, we didnt do anything with Kyle because we view him highly in this organization," Ujiri said of Lowry, who is averaging career-bests in points and assists this year. In Wednesday nights loss to the Bulls, LLowry knocked down his 129th three-pointer of the campaign, matching his career-high for threes made in a single season, with 28 games still left to play.dddddddddddd Ujiri met with Lowrys agent, Andy Miller, on Wednesday, the eve of the deadline. Overall, the Raptors GM has been content with the communication on both sides and seemed enthusiastic about Lowrys progress and his future with the team. "We set some good [goals] and had good talks with him," said Ujiri. "He was upfront with us, we were upfront with him in the beginning of the season and hes living up to his part and I think weve lived up our part, too. I think thats how you build partnerships. Well see how he grows." It was a relatively quiet day league-wide. The most notable deal was leaked by Yahoo Sports shortly after the 3pm et deadline had passed with Indiana, the Easts best team, shipping often-injured former all-star Danny Granger to the rebuilding 76ers for a package that included breakout forward Evan Turner. The Raptors also made a late, albeit inconsequential move, trading seldom-used forward Austin Daye to San Antonio in exchange for French combo guard Nando De Colo. De Colo - averaging 4.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26 games for the Spurs this season, his second in the NBA - is due to become a free agent this summer and doesnt figure to factor into Caseys rotation as long as his regulars stay healthy. Daye has appeared in just eight games for Toronto after signing with Raptors for the league minimum in the offseason. Often at the end of the bench, or one of Caseys inactives, Daye hasnt logged more than three minutes in a game since early December, coincidentally against the Spurs. "You never know when an opportunity will come," Daye said in conversation with TSN.ca last month. "I know I can play in this league. Its just a matter of a numbers game right now." "Its tough when you feel like theres no hope," he continued, "but you have to also look at it this way, you may not be playing, then youre thrown in a trade and then youre needed to play." With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror and the uncertainty of Lowrys immediate future put behind them for the time being, the Raptors can focus all their attention on the stretch run. "[The deadline] does weigh on you, it weighs on everybody," Ujiri admitted. "Theres anxiety, people are wondering whats going to happen. Its gone, its gone and now everybody plays a little more free and they kind of figure at least were here for another few months or for the future. As tough as we all try to be, me included, the trade deadline is a date, I think, thats significant for everybody." ' ' '