Ordonez will miss four to seven weeks

Seattle — White Sox slugger Magglio Ordonez will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in Chicago today and is expected to miss four to seven weeks.

Ordonez, who can become a free agent after this season, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday, retroactive to May 26. He was injured May 25 against Texas while swinging at a pitch.

The White Sox recalled catcher Jamie Burke from Triple-A Charlotte to take Ordonez’s spot on the 25-man roster.

White Sox trainer Herm Schneider said the team suspected Ordonez had torn cartilage.

“They think it’s a little tear of the meniscus,” Schneider said. “They really don’t think it’s a major ordeal. He can walk and he can hit. He just can’t run.”

Ordonez, a four-time All-Star right fielder, missed his seventh straight game Wednesday night in Oakland. He left during the game to fly to Los Angeles to be examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum.

Ordonez is batting .311 with eight homers and 34 RBIs in 42 games for the AL Central leaders.

“It’s a shame to lose a guy like that,” manager Ozzie Guillen said before Friday night’s game against Seattle. “He’s a quality player. But we have to move on and play the game. I have a lot of confidence that we’re still going to be successful.”

It is Ordonez’s first trip to the DL in eight major-league seasons.

Burke was batting .213 with one home run and 11 RBIs in 33 games at Charlotte. He played in three games with the White Sox after he was called up May 2, going 0-for-1 with a walk.

Diamondbacks’ Sexson has shoulder surgery

Phoenix — Once he realized shoulder surgery was inevitable, Richie Sexson wasted no time having it done. The Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman had surgery on the torn cartilage in his left shoulder Friday morning after getting a second opinion Wednesday recommending the procedure.

Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said before Friday night’s game against Los Angeles that team doctor Michael Lee performed the arthroscopic procedure after a cancellation left him with an opening on his schedule.

“They caught Richie here at the ballpark,” Brenly said. “He decided to go have it done. The surgery was considered a success. The surgery’s finished, and Richie is home recovering blissfully.”

Two days earlier, Sexson found out that Dr. James Andrews, who he saw in Birmingham, Ala., agreed that the first baseman needed surgery to regain full strength of the torn labrum in the socket of his shoulder.

Andrews found the shoulder would still be unstable even if Sexson opted for another two months of rehabilitation.

Sexson, 29, was injured on a check swing against the Chicago Cubs on April 28. He returned from the disabled list, but re-injured the shoulder May 22 on another check swing against the Marlins in Florida in his second game back.

The central figure in a nine-player trade last winter, the former Milwaukee star played in 23 games for the Diamondbacks, finishing this season with a .233 batting average, nine home runs and 23 RBIs.

In 2003, Sexson played every inning of every game, the first to do that in a 162-game season since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1986.

Yankees to skip Contreras’ turn

New York — The New York Yankees will skip Jose Contreras’ turn in the rotation, giving the erratic right-hander a chance to work out flaws in his pitching motion.

Yankees manager Joe Torre said pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre spotted the problem in Contreras’ delivery. Instead of pitching Tuesday against Colorado, Contreras will get three bullpen sessions before starting against San Diego on June 12. Monday’s off day means the Yankees can pass him over and keep their other four starters on regular rest.

Contreras recorded just two outs Wednesday against Baltimore, allowing five runs. Torre said the right-hander’s right shoulder was flying out, and that after reviewing video, Stottlemyre determined “it was glaring.”

Yankees executive Gordon Blakeley and Stottlemyre would work with Contreras in an attempt to eliminate the flaw. Contreras is 2-2 with a 7.11 ERA in eight starts and was sent to the minors from May 4-22 to work on his command.

Also Friday, Jason Giambi rejoined the Yankees after he went 1-for-6 in a pair of minor league rehabilitation games with Class-A Tampa. Giambi took batting practice in an indoor cage, and New York plans to activate him before Sunday’s series finale and start him at first base.

The 2000 AL MVP sprained his right ankle on May 21 at Texas, and the following day went on the disabled list for the first time in his major league career.

“It healed quick,” he said. “It healed faster than I think everybody thought it did.”

Pitchers Prior, Mercker added to Cubs’ roster

Chicago — The Chicago Cubs activated right-hander Mark Prior and left-hander Kent Mercker before Friday’s game with the Pirates.

Prior had been on the disabled list all season because of a sore Achilles tendon and elbow. He started Friday’s game.

Mercker, 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in 19 appearances, had been sidelined by a sore back.

To make room on the roster, the Cubs sent right-hander Michael Wuertz to Triple-A Iowa. Right-hander Sergio Mitre had been sent down Wednesday.

The Cubs also transferred shortstop Alex Gonzalez (broken wrist) to the 60-day disabled list.