Injury sidelines Benson

Orioles pitcher Kris Benson has a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder and could miss the 2007 season.

A recent MRI revealed a partial tear, Benson's agent, Gregg Clifton said yesterday. The injury will require surgery, but the procedure has not yet been scheduled.

After coming to Baltimore in a January 2006 trade with the Mets, Benson went 11-12 with a 4.82 ERA in 30 starts.

The Orioles moved quickly to fill his spot, agreeing with free agent righthander Steve Trachsel on a $3 million contract, with a club option for 2008, according to a baseball official.

Trachsel was 15-8 with a 4.97 ERA for the Mets last season.

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera yesterday talked about the possibility of not being with the team a year from now. Rivera will get $10.5 million this season, the option year of a contract paying him $31.5 million over three seasons. He is eligible to become a free agent after the World Series. "If they want to talk, we're willing to listen," Rivera said following a workout. "But I'm going to bring nothing to the table. I'm just going to focus on what I have to do and see what happens." . . . Infielder Eduardo Perez (White Sox), and pitchers Pete Walker (Blue Jays) and Matt Herges (Rockies) agreed to minor league contracts.

The Major League Baseball Players Association asked a federal appeals court in San Francisco to revisit its December decision to allow investigators probing steroids in sports to use the names and urine samples of more than 100 players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs . . . Time Warner Inc. finalized an agreement to sell the Atlanta Braves to Liberty Media Corp. MLB now must approve . . . Joe Girardi, who received the 2006 Manager of the Year award after getting fired by the Marlins, was hired by Fox Sports as an TV analyst for the 2007 season, according to Bloomberg News . . . Righthander Cooper Brannan, a Marine who lost his left pinky while serving in Iraq, has agreed to terms with the Padres . . . Teams now will be able to change their postseason rosters if the series opener is postponed.