SPRING TRAINING DAILY REPORT

For David Wells, his trade to Toronto is proving to be a pain in the back.

The colorful left-hander was in the treatment room instead of on the field, bothered by back spasms.

“Wells has some lower right back inflammation,” Toronto trainer Tommy Craig said. “We’re treating him now, and he seems to be responding to the treatment and exercises. We don’t anticipate it being a long and drawn-out thing. We’re just going to take it day-to-day right now, then ease him back up to the on-the-field stuff.”

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Kerry Wood is regaining his color and the weight he lost from recent bouts with illness. Now, Chicago Cub Manager Jim Riggleman wants to keep his prize pitcher’s arm healthy all year, too.

Riggleman would like to limit the 21-year-old’s innings this season to no more than 200.

“He threw a lot of pitches per game, and I’m sure he will continue to do that,” Riggleman said. “He threw a pretty significant number of innings. The only thing I can say is that hopefully Kerry is healthy, and I’m probably not going to want him to exceed 200 innings this year.”

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San Francisco Manager Dusty Baker named Mark Gardner as his opening-day starter. . . . As expected, first baseman Todd Helton signed a four-year, $12-million contract with the Colorado Rockies. . . . The New York Yankees renewed catcher Jorge Posada’s contract at $350,000.