BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Mariners’ Johnson on Disabled List

The Seattle Mariners put ace left-hander Randy Johnson on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday because of an irritated nerve in his lower back.

Johnson, the 1995 American League Cy Young Award winner, made his first start in 11 days Sunday against Kansas City, and motioned for a pitching change in the sixth inning after giving up one run on five hits with seven strikeouts.

Johnson, 32, is 5-0 with a 3.83 earned-run average in eight starts. He has 58 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings.

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Five days after major surgery on his pitching shoulder and hours after being released from the hospital, a teary-eyed David Cone said he hopes to pitch again this season.

“I feel great,” the New York Yankees’ ace said during an emotional news conference at Yankee Stadium. “In my heart, I hope to pitch again this year. That’s what I’m shooting for.”

Cone, who underwent a three-hour operation last Friday to repair an aneurysm in his shoulder, said he could begin throwing in six weeks if his recovery goes smoothly. That’s the amount of time it usually takes for the kind of vein graft used in the operation to heal.

“I’m sure I’m going to want to pick up a baseball and throw it against the couch at my home,” Cone said. “But I’m smart enough to realize that I’m going to have to be patient.”

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Reliever John Wetteland could become a free agent unless the Yankees pay his full salary by Friday. The players’ association filed a grievance accusing the team of paying only half his salary this season, and asked for a hearing. . . . The Yankees signed Japanese pitcher Katsuhiro Maeda to a minor league contract, the Tampa Tribune reported. The Yankees paid more than $350,000 to the Seibu Lions for rights to Maeda, the paper said. The contract with the Yankees includes a $1.5-million signing bonus. . . . Minnesota Twin star Kirby Puckett, out since the end of the exhibition season because of glaucoma in his right eye, will seek a second opinion on his vision problem next week. . . . The Toronto Blue Jays acquired outfielder Jacob Brumfield from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league first baseman D.J. Boston.