Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's arrival at the Tampa, Fla., airport drew a flock of media, as well as a few curious passers-by.

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SAN DIEGO — A Marine who lost a finger on his left hand while serving in Iraq has agreed to terms with the San Diego Padres, the team said Monday.

Right-hander Cooper Brannan will report to minor-league spring training March 1. Brannan, 22, injured his left hand during a second tour of duty Iraq. Team spokesman George Stieren said Brannan lost his left pinky.

The team planned to announce the signing at a news conference today at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

Brannan was born in Houston and attended high school in Gilbert.

Stieren said Padres general manager Kevin Towers "was adamant that we were doing this because of his potential, not because it was a great story.

"This was a legitimate baseball decision."

BALTIMORE — Orioles pitcher Kris Benson has a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder and will probably miss the entire 2007 season.

Benson had an MRI exam last week that revealed a partial tear in his rotator cuff, the pitcher's agent, Gregg Clifton, said Monday. The injury will require surgery, but the procedure has not yet been scheduled.

TAMPA, Fla. — Dice-K arrived at spring training.

And so did crowds of reporters, photographers and television crews who flocked to Florida to chronicle the $103 million Japanese ace's landing. That did not count the handful of puzzled passers-by who wondered what all the fuss was about Monday at Tampa International Airport.

It's all about Daisuke Matsuzaka.

He arrived at the airport early Monday night, then got in a car for the ride to Fort Myers, about 130 miles to the south, to settle in before his first workout at the Boston Red Sox training camp.

"I have a few days left before camp officially starts," Matsuzaka said through an interpreter during a five-minute interview. "My excitement has not reached its peak, but I would love to meet my teammates."

● Time Warner agreed on terms of a sale of the Atlanta Braves to Liberty Media and sent the deal to Major League Baseball for approval on Monday, team president Terry McGuirk told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

● Major-league teams will be able to change their postseason rosters if their series opener is postponed. When their NL Championship Series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals was rained out last year, the Mets said that if given the chance they might have carried 12 pitchers instead of 11 if they had the opportunity to switch.

● Right-handed pitcher Matt Herges agreed to a minor-league contract Monday with the Rockies, who invited him to spring training.

● Joe Girardi, who received the 2006 Manager of the Year award after getting fired by the Marlins, was hired by Fox Sports as a baseball analyst.