TUCSON, Ariz. -- Chicago White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle is expected to miss at least one spring training start after tests Monday showed he injured his left foot while shagging fly balls last weekend.
White Sox trainer Herm Schneider described the injury as a "stress reaction" but not a fracture.
Buehrle, the team's scheduled Opening Day starter, underwent an MRI on Monday morning, but when that was inconclusive, he had a CT scan. Buehrle apparently irritated a previous injury he was unaware of.
"Considering I can stand and walk on it, it is 120 percent better. I couldn't do that yesterday," Buehrle said after the White Sox lost 5-4 to Arizona. "I came in today and everything was fine. I couldn't even tell there was anything wrong with my foot."
Both Buehrle, who turns 26 on Wednesday, and the White Sox initially feared he might miss four to six weeks after getting X-rays.
Buehrle, who is taking anti-inflammatory medicine, will wear a boot and not participate in baseball workouts for the next couple of days.
"We will see how he is [Tuesday]. If he keeps getting better,
then we will let him go," Schneider said. "If everything goes
well, he might miss one start and then go back to work."
Buehrle was shagging fly balls Sunday when he heard a pop in his
foot. He did not report it to trainers, opting to go home instead.
After waking up from a nap, Buehrle said he could hardly walk and
came back to the White Sox clubhouse, where X-rays were taken.
Buehrle has won at least 14 games in four straight seasons. He was 16-10 with a 3.89 ERA in an AL-leading 245 1/3 innings last year. He threw six perfect innings Saturday against Kansas City and is 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA this spring.
White Sox general manager Kenny Williams indicated that Freddy Garcia will start on Opening Day
against the Cleveland Indians on April 4 if Buehrle was unable to go, and that rookie Brandon McCarthy would join the rotation as the fifth starter.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.