SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton will open the year on the disabled list with an ailing left knee.

Assistant general manager Thad Levine said Hamilton, bothered by swelling in the knee, received a stem cell and platelet rich plasma injection Monday.

Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP, will be on crutches for 7 to 10 days and is projected to need eight weeks of recovery time. Levine said Hamilton likely would start a minor league rehabilitation assignment in late April and the Rangers hope he will return in early May.

“Obviously it’s frustrating and disappointing,” Hamilton said Wednesday. “As an athlete, you don’t want to be pushed back and wait and have a drawn-out time period to get back. That stinks. At the same time I really felt like it was something that needed to be done now.”

ORIOLES: The status of right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who agreed to a three-year, $35 million deal Saturday, remains unclear as the team awaits the results of additional medical tests they ordered.

METS: The suspension of reliever Hansel Robles was cut from three games to two after he agreed to drop his appeal.

CUBS: The owner, Tom Ricketts, said he and Theo Epstein are “on the same page,” hinting that a new contract agreement is close for the team’s president of baseball operations.

PIRATES: The owner, Bob Nutting, said doesn’t think his team’s fiscally conservative decisions in the offseason will prevent the club from contending in 2016.

DODGERS: Los Angeles signed veteran pitcher Jamey Wright, 41, to a minor league deal.