Tom Goodwin signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. Goodwin, released by LA, will provide the Giants with an extra outfielder at AAA who can handle centerfield if they suffer injuries at the major league level. San Francisco also likes his speed potential as the team doesn't have a lot of base stealers.

Meanwhile Barry Bonds and the Giants admitted last week that Bonds has a slight tear in his hamstring. However, the tear is reportedly small and not something that will keep him off the field. As we knew when we first heard of the injury, the hamstring could be aggravated and he could suffer more damage that would cause further harm to the leg. Although since this is primarily a semantic change, there is no need for additional concern beyond that at the initial diagnosis of the injury.

Both the team and Bonds are trying to prevent the injury from deteriorating while at the same time keeping him in the lineup. Even though he probably won't be able to hit many doubles until this heals and may have to hold up at third base rather than otherwise scoring, the Giants still want his bat in the lineup. After all, it doesn't really matter how fast he moves around the bases when he hits a homerun, although he will take a few more rest days than usual and will most likely take his off days in colder weather.

San Francisco placed LHP Jason Christiansen on the DL Saturday. Christiansen is suffering from tendinitis in his left elbow. The Giants haven't announced a timetable for his return.

LHP Chad Zerbe was called up to take Christiansen's roster spot. Zerbe has split the last two seasons between AAA and the majors. He began his professional career as a starter but apparently didn't have the skills for work in a rotation and was moved into relief. He still allows a few too many hits and doesn't strikeout quite enough batters to warrant a regular bullpen position but is an acceptable injury replacement. Zerbe will turn 30 on Saturday.

Rarely a season goes by when Larry Walker isn't afflicted by some malady. Walker left the April 16th game with a sore right elbow that caused a couple days of concern for Rockies fans, as elbow problems have sidelined him in the past. However, a Wednesday MRI revealed that the injury was not severe.

Walker has sprained his ulnar collateral ligament and strained his flexor tendon. If he were a pitcher, this would cause him to miss significant time. It closely resembles the injury to Milwaukee Brewers' pitcher Chad Fox. As a position player, Walker shouldn't miss more than the few days he's already been out. He hasn't played since the 16th, but following today's off-day he's likely to be in the lineup tomorrow.

Rockies' pitcher Pete Harnisch is officially out for the season. He's scheduled to have Tommy John surgery today after an MRI revealed he has a torn elbow ligament. Harnisch was in the process of returning from elbow surgery performed last August. The 35-year-old has had various injury problems over the last several years and may find it difficult to return from this most recent development.

Teams don't often benefit from losing a player for the season, but this injury has saved Colorado from making the mistake of placing Harnisch in their rotation. Injuries have diminished his skills to the point where it would be risky for any team to let him start. Harnisch would likely have completely blown up in the Colorado rotation considering the added difficulty of pitching in Coors.

Jose Canseco has returned to the Chicago White Sox. Canseco signed a minor league contract with the team on Thursday. Chicago signed Canseco in late June last season to replace the injured Frank Thomas and ineffective Harold Baines. He left after the year as a free agent in order to find another club willing to give him more time in the outfield. Canseco generally feels that he performs better at the plate when he's allowed to play in the field but most teams don't feel he has the defensive skills to warrant significant playing time at any position outside of DH.

He signed with Montreal in February, but the Expos cut him in late March. They were unimpressed with his fielding and didn't want to risk carrying a guy best suited to DH. Considering Canseco would have blocked rookie Brad Wilkerson, the team definitely made the right decision.

The 37-year-old Canseco really wants to reach the milestone of 500 HR before he retires but may have trouble finding the playing time necessary to reach that goal. He played well for Chicago last season, racking up 16 HR in only 256 AB, and seems capable of performing well again if given an opportunity. However, the White Sox have fairly good outfield depth, including several prospects almost ready for full-time positions, so Canseco is unlikely to see significant time in the outfield for Chicago. His only real shot at a call up is in case of injury to Frank Thomas or Paul Konerko, something the White Sox desperately hope to avoid.

The Yankees have also signed a few players to minor league contracts. Bill Pulsipher signed a minor league contract with New York over a week ago. After becoming a free agent this winter, Pulsipher originally singed a minor league deal with Texas but they released him near the end of Spring Training.

The 28-year-old LHP has been bothered with injuries for several years. Consequently, he's moved from starting to relief. Pulsipher has bounced in and out of the majors for the last few seasons, usually receiving a call-up when his major league team was in need of an injury replacement. He's unlikely to break into the Yankees' pen unless two of Mike Stanton, Randy Choate, and Ted Lilly become injured at the same time, so he's just another example of their ample depth and injury insurance.

New York also signed OF Billy McMillon to a minor league deal over a week ago. He signed a minor league deal with Florida in January, but they released him at the end of Spring Training. McMillon has demonstrated at least acceptable plate discipline throughout his professional career and has some power potential. A shoulder injury and ensuing surgery prematurely ended his 2001 season. If McMillon had remained healthy, Oakland may never have traded for Jermaine Dye, as they picked McMillon off waivers from Detroit in order to replace Adam Piatt on the roster when Piatt went down with viral meningitis. The 30-year-old McMillon will provide the Yankees with some injury insurance at AAA.

Karim Garcia signed a minor league deal with the Yankees on April 2nd. Garcia became a free agent when he refused assignment by Cleveland to AAA at the end of Spring Training. The 26-year-old left-handed outfielder has good power potential but no plate discipline. He's still young enough that he could have several good seasons if he ever improved his strike zone judgment but seems unlikely to progress at this point. He's split time between AAA and the majors for the last several seasons. Garcia is another potential call-up for the Yankees if they need to add another outfielder to the team due to injury but don't want to disrupt the development of prospects Juan Rivera and Marcus Thames.