Montreal Expos: Right-hander Tony Armas Jr. will have surgery next week to repair slight tears in his rotator cuff and shoulder.

No timetable for his return will be set until after doctors can evaluate the extent of the damage.

Armas is scheduled to have the operation May 23 in Los Angeles. He has been on the disabled list since April 21 after experiencing pain following a start against Cincinnati.

Armas did not allow a homer in first four outings before giving up four in his last start, a 7-5 loss to the Reds in the Expos' final game of a 10-game homestand in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

He woke up the next morning with a sore shoulder and an MRI revealed the tears.

He is 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA in five starts this season.

Houston Astros: Pitcher Roy Oswalt will miss his next start with a right groin injury.

Oswalt earned his third victory Thursday against Pittsburgh but left after getting hurt while running the bases in the seventh inning. He reported soreness Friday.

"It's precautionary probably," Oswalt said. "We'll see how it goes. It's a long season. We'll see how it feels and go from there. Hopefully, I'll just miss one start."

Astros manager Jimy Williams had not decided who would start in Oswalt's place.

"We'll evaluate him after that," Williams said. "It will be on a day-to-day basis."

Oswalt is 3-4 with a 3.68 ERA. He went 19-9 with a 3.01 ERA last season and finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting.

New York Mets: Right-hander David Cone, on the disabled list with an arthritic hip, allowed three runs and five hits over five innings in his second rehabilitation start for Class A St. Lucie on Friday night.

Pitching against the Dunedin Blue Jays, Cone retired his first nine batters before Russ Adams walked leading off the fourth. Adams later scored from third on Cone's second wild pitch of the inning.

Ron Davenport got the Blue Jays first hit off Cone, a leadoff homer in the fifth. Four of the next five batters singled to score Dundein's second run of the inning.

He struck out two and walked one during a 61-pitch outing, including 45 strikes.

Last Sunday, Cone allowed one run and five hits over four innings against the Tampa Yankees.

Also, left-hander John Franco, who underwent reconstructive surgery on his left elbow last May, is scheduled to make his third rehabilitation appearance Saturday for the Mets' extended spring training team.

Franco threw one scoreless inning for St. Lucie in games Monday and Thursday.

Detroit Tigers: Veteran infielder-DH Dean Palmer, who has struggled with shoulder and neck injuries for more than a year, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday.

After undergoing cervical disc surgery on May 3, 2002, Palmer missed all but four games last season with shoulder and neck injuries, which have bothered him this year.

Palmer, 34, has played in 26 games this season, batting only .140 (12-of-86) with six RBI. Friday's move was retroactive to May 10.

To take Palmer's place on the 25-man roster, Detroit purchased the contract of infielder Kevin Witt from Triple-A Toledo.

Witt is hitting .305 with 10 doubles, an International League-leading nine home runs and 27 RBI. He also leads the league with 19 extra-base hits, is third with a .588 slugging percentage and tied for fourth in RBI.

San Diego Padres: The Padres promoted pitcher Charles Nagy to the majors on Friday, two months after he accepted assignment to Triple-A Portland after being injured in spring training.

Along with purchasing the contract of Nagy, the Padres placed right-handed pitchers Clay Condrey and Brandon Villafuerte on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of right-hander Carlton Loewer.

Nagy, 35, was in the running to be the Padres' fifth starter until he was struck by a line drive this spring and bruised his right forearm. He was 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA in three spring appearances, including one start.

The Padres placed Condrey on the 15-day disabled list after he strained his left oblique strain a day earlier. Villafuerte is out with a right shoulder strain.

To replace Condrey on the roster, the Padres purchased Loewer's contract from Triple-A Portland.

Also Friday, the Padres optioned left-handed pitcher Roger Deago to Double-A Mobile, purchased the contract of left-hander Randy Keisler from Portland and transferred right-handed pitchers Kevin Jarvis and Jay Witasick and left-handed pitcher Kevin Walker from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list.

Cleveland Indians: Milton Bradley returned to Cleveland's starting lineup Friday night, insisting he had not been benched for one game by Indians manager Eric Wedge.

"I wasn't benched," the outfielder said before batting fourth and playing center field against Oakland in the opener of a three-game series. "I haven't been benched since 'A' ball."

Bradley, yanked by Wedge from Wednesday night's game after six innings, did not play Thursday night against Seattle.

Bradley didn't appear to do anything unusual when he flied to left field for the second out in the sixth inning in Cleveland's 7-2 victory Wednesday night.

But Wedge apparently didn't like something he saw -- or heard -- and replaced Bradley with rookie Jody Gerut to start the seventh.

Wedge and Bradley met for nearly an hour before Thursday's game. Bradley did not join his teammates for batting practice, but was given the opportunity by Wedge to address the entire team before that game.

Bradley would not elaborate, calling it "a team issue," but added, "I had a lot of things on my chest because I hold a lot of things in that I don't express. It was the perfect opportunity to express what was on my mind and in my heart.

"There was a lot of emotion. I'm an emotional guy. But it had nothing to do with anger."

Kansas City Royals: The Royals tried to upgrade their beleaguered bullpen Friday by purchasing the contract of right-hander Jason Gilfillan from Triple-A Omaha and optioning righty Kris Wilson to the minors.

Gilfillan was 3-0 with five saves and an 0.73 ERA in 15 appearances with Omaha.

:He's really taken off. The quality of his stuff has gotten better," Kansas City assistant general manager Muzzy Jackson said.

Wilson was 0-0 with a 4.87 ERA in 10 games. He's struggled in May, allowing eight earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Reliever Albie Lopez is 4-2 with a 9.47 ERA. But Wilson had an option remaining and Lopez did not.

"That obviously was a factor in the decision," Jackson said.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Right-hander Pat Mahomes from Triple-A Nashville and left-hander Dennys Reyes was designated for outright assignment.

Reyes must clear waivers before joining the Sounds. He was 0-0 with a 10.45 ERA, allowing 11 earned runs in his last three innings. He threw two run-scoring wild pitches in his only inning Monday against Houston.

The Pirates are the sixth major league team for Mahomes, who is 42-38 with a 5.49 ERA in 299 career games. He was 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 16 games for the Cubs last season.

Mahomes joined the Pirates for Friday night's game against Arizona.