New York Mets: David Cone will get his first spring training start with the New York Mets in a split-squad game Saturday against Baltimore in Fort Lauderdale.

The 40-year-old right-hander, who didn't pitch in 2002, threw in the bullpen Wednesday, then was given the go-ahead to face the Orioles by pitching coach Verne Ruhle.

"Things have gone well, I've made a lot of progress,'' Cone said. "It's nice to get that confirmation from your pitching coach.''

Cone had left camp for two days to be with his wife, who had minor surgery., and returned Tuesday night. He is trying to make the team as the fifth starter or a reliever after not pitching last season.

Cone, who last pitched for Boston in 2001, threw sliders, split-fingered fastballs and curve balls during his mound session.

Also Wednesday, left-hander John Franco threw off the mound for the second time this spring. Franco, recovering from elbow ligament-replacement surgery, threw 40 pitches and said the elbow felt fine. He did have some soreness in the triceps.

"It felt good, I'm trying to hold back a little bit because I don't want to get too excited,'' Franco said.

Anaheim Angels: Outfielder Tim Salmon ran the bases for the first time Wednesday in his comeback from offseason knee surgery.

Manager Mike Scioscia said he won't rush Salmon into action, and he hinted that Salmon could be out of Cactus League games for a week.

"If it takes a week, it takes a week,'' Scioscia said. "We're not going to sit back and put a time frame on it. There is nothing that shows us anything to be concerned about. His bat speed is excellent. He's moving well in the outfield and swinging great.''

Salmon, the AL's comeback player of the year last season, recovered from previous career lows (.227 average, 17 homers and 49 RBI) in 2001 to hit .285, with 22 homers and 88 RBI. He missed 18 games with a hand injury last season.

Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay was picked Wednesday to start Toronto's season opener, making it likely he will be the first major league pitcher Hideki Matsui will face in a game that counts.

Toronto opens at home on March 31 against the New York Yankees, who signed Matsui to a $21 million, three-year contract during the offseason.

Halladay, a 25-year-old right-hander, was 19-7 with a 2.93 ERA last season. He also is to start the Blue Jays' exhibition opener against Tampa Bay on Saturday in St. Petersburg.

Catalanotto in stitches: Toronto outfielder Frank Catalanotto was hit in the face Wednesday when he missed a fly ball and needed stitches to close the cut.

"I was under a pop fly and just lost it in the sun,'' he said. "The ball hit me above and to the side of my right eye, right at the end of the eyebrow. I received six stitches and should be ready to go tomorrow. At least this happened after the photos were taken.''

Toronto took its team photo and individual photos of players and coaches earlier Wednesday.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Pitching prospect Dewon Brazelton injured his right knee during a spring training sliding drill and will miss an intrasquad game scheduled for Thursday.

Brazelton and other pitchers were practicing slides in the outfield Wednesday when the right-hander caught his foot on a sliding mat and tweaked his right knee. The extent of the injury will be determined when he is examined by a doctor on Thursday.

"I can't honestly say it's nothing, but I don't think it's a big deal,'' Brazelton said. "I'm not worried about it at all.''

Brazelton, the third overall pick in the 2001 draft, was scheduled to pitch two innings in Thursday's intrasquad game. He said the injury would not have stopped him from taking the mound if the Devil Rays were playing a regular-season game.

"He'll see the doctor and let's hope it's not serious or even lingering,'' manager Lou Piniella said.

"It's a shame. Let's hope that at the worst it's just a little achiness or soreness and nothing more. I'm counting on Dewon to compete very seriously for a starting rotation spot.''

San Diego Padres: Kevin Jarvis was the Padres' Opening-Day starter last season. This year, he's fighting for a spot in the rotation.

Thanks to an elbow injury and the emergence of several younger pitchers, Jarvis has been shuttled to the back of the rotation. And he must hold off challengers Francisco Cordova and Charles Nagy to be the No. 5 starter.

"At the beginning of last year, my every intention was to be a part of a core group of guys that would be together, set an example in the way we go about our business and work toward starting a new tradition in San Diego,'' Jarvis said Wednesday. "I come to the ballpark every day to work toward that goal.''

Jarvis, 33, earned his opening-day assignment with a 12-11 season in 2001, when he made a career-high 32 starts. But he was limited to seven starts last year because of a strained tendon in his pitching elbow.

He finished 2-4 with a 4.37 ERA, hardly what the Padres expected when they signed him to a three-year, $9 million contract after the 2001 season.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Quilvio Veras didn't treat his year away from baseball as a vacation.

The veteran second baseman worked out tirelessly and ran on the beach in his native Dominican Republic as he waited for his right knee to heal completely.

Veras, one of the NL' top base-stealing threats before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during the summer of 2000, is trying to make a comeback with the Dodgers this spring.

"It's hard when you're taking a year off,'' he said. "You just have to work hard and keep believing in yourself.''

Veras, who turns 32 on April 3, believes his legs are just as strong as when he was averaging almost 30 stolen bases per year with the San Diego Padres from 1995-97.

He went 2-for-2 and stole two bases in the Dodgers' first intrasquad game Tuesday, then added a single Wednesday.

Seattle Mariners: Freddy Garcia and Joel Pineiro each pitched two strong innings and Mark McLemore went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI as the Seattle Mariners beat the Lotte Giants 8-1 Wednesday.

The South Korean team offered the first action for the Mariners other than an intrasquad game, giving manager Bob Melvin a look at his lineup.

"We got a full game in, which was good,'' Melvin said. "Everything was good.''

Garcia allowed two hits and struck out three batters while Pineiro allowed one hit, walked one and struck out three. Both pitchers threw every pitch in their repertoire, regardless of situation.

Kazuhiro Sasaki surrendered the only run, a seventh-inning homer by Hyun Park, but then struck out two batters he faced in one inning. Arthur Rhodes and Jeff Nelson each worked one inning, striking out two of the three batters they faced.

Shin Soo Choo, a Mariners right field prospect from Korea, was 0-for-1 with a walk.

Florida Marlins: The Marlins heard a few "pings'' Wednesday.

In their first exhibition game of the season, the Marlins beat the University of Miami 5-1.

The Hurricanes "swung those metal bats and it got me fired up,'' said Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis, who faced the minimum of six batters in two innings, striking out two.

Willis pitched in Class-A last summer, posting a combined 12-2 record at Kane County and Jupiter with ERAs under 2.00 at both stops.

"He's a winner,'' Marlins manager Jeff Torborg said. "He has a live arm, very impressive.''