Baseball-Major League Baseball roundup

March 7 (The Sports Xchange) - St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta might miss up to three months because of a left thumb injury he suffered on Saturday. Peralta tore a ligament, according to general manager John Mozeliak, who added results of an MRI were "not positive." The Cardinals will proceed cautiously with the 33-year-old Peralta, who batted .275 with 17 homers and 71 RBIs last season. He played in 155 games last year and 157 the season before. Jedd Gyorko is a likely replacement for Peralta. In the past three seasons with the San Diego Padres, Gyorko has averaged 16 homers. --- Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley has been given the green light to continue his hitting program as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. Brantley underwent right shoulder surgery in November. First projections had him returning in late April or early May. But his recovery has been faster than anyone expected. "There's significant progression to go," manager Terry Francona told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The good news is he's doing great. The hitting guys come back and say, 'He looks great.'" --- Giancarlo Stanton will not play for a few days because of soreness in his right knee, but the Miami Marlins are not concerned about the outfielder's status. Manager Don Mattingly described Stanton's injury as "dealing with soreness," and said many players are in the same boat the first few weeks of spring. Stanton had been scheduled to start against the Nationals on Monday but Mattingly did not bring Stanton on the trip. "We'll just see," Mattingly said. "The one thing we'll be is cautious. We've got time right now. I'm not really worried about it." --- Albert Pujols plans to play Opening Day despite suggestions the Los Angeles Angels would hold him back to ensure his surgically repaired foot was ready for the rigors of a 162-game season. "I knew I was going to be ready for Opening Day since I showed up to Spring Training," Pujols said Sunday after going 0-for-3 at the plate in his spring debut. "You guys are the ones that counted me out. I don't really worry about too much of that. So now I just continue to do my workout and continue to pace myself." Manager Mike Scioscia said it was too early for grand declarations but agreed Pujols is ahead of the schedule set for recovery by team doctors. --- The New York Yankees signed Landis Sims to a one-day contract. Sims, a 10-year-old from Indiana was born without legs from the knee down and no hands. He took batting practice with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira before the Yankees game with the Houston Astros. Sims wears prosthetic legs and uses special equipment to swing a bat and catch and throw. He stepped into the batter's box and smacked pitch after pitch back up the middle. Manager Joe Girardi first met Sims two years ago and invited the boy to spring training to provide inspiration. The boy was supposed to just watch batting practice. But Sims was in the Yankees' pre-workout meeting and got to meet Derek Jeter before getting to step into the batter's box. (Editing by Larry Fine) ))