3/7 Blanco out 10-14 days

Infielder Andres Blanco will be sidelined 10 to 14 days because of a mild to moderate sprain of his right knee, suffered Saturday. Blanco showed up at HoHoKam on Sunday wearing a large brace on his right knee.

“It’s nothing real serious,” Blanco said. “The doctors said I’ll be fine, 100 percent in a week or two.”

His foot got locked in the infield dirt at second as he tried to make a tag in the sixth inning against the White Sox.

“As soon as I got locked, my knee popped,” he said.

Now, Blanco has to wait for the inflammation to subside, and then he’ll begin treatment.

“The doctors said it won’t take me too long,” Blanco said.

The loss of Blanco doesn’t mean shortstop sensation Starlin Castro moves up on the depth chart. The Cubs organization plans on having Castro open the season at Triple-A Iowa.

“This will give me a chance to play [Mike] Fontneot at short, which I said I needed to do,” Lou Piniella said. “We have [Darwin] Barney in camp.”

– Carrie Muskat