ORLANDO, Fla. — Pete Rose again asked Major League Baseball to end his lifetime ban, saying the penalty is unfair compared with discipline for steroids use and electronic sign stealing.

Rose’s lawyers submitted the application Wednesday to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, who in December 2015 denied the previous request by the career hits leader.

“The time has come to recognize that Mr. Rose’s penalty has become grossly disproportionate relative to Major League Baseball’s treatment of severe wrongdoing by ownership, management and players,” the petition said.

Rose agreed to the lifetime ban in August 1989 after an investigation for MLB by lawyer John Dowd found that Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team.

“There has never been any allegation that Mr. Rose’s misconduct was intended to gain a competitive advantage over other teams,” stated the petition, which was first reported by ESPN. “When it comes to subsequent violations of Major League Baseball rules – namely steroid use and electronic sign stealing – this is clearly not the case. They have intentionally and dramatically affected the results of plays and games, including the outcomes of two consecutive World Series. These acts manifestly and deliberately violate the spirit and letter of the rules.”

Rose, who turns 79 in April, asked to meet with Manfred, who in his 2015 denial wrote that the 17-time All-Star had “not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life either by an honest acceptance by him of his wrongdoing, so clearly established in the Dowd Report, or by a rigorous, self-aware and sustained program of avoidance by him of all the circumstances that led to his permanent ineligibility.”

YANKEES: GM Brian Cashman worried about James Paxton’s back pain and kept suggesting: “Let’s just get the surgery out of the way. We’re losing time.”

Paxton was examined by three doctors, who said the issue could resolve itself.

“They all came to the same conclusion: No, no, no,” Cashman recalled.

But Paxton did not get better and finally had the operation Wednesday. He is expected to be sidelined until May or June.

New York said Dr. Andrew Dossett in Dallas performed a microscopic lumbar discectomy, in which a herniated disk is repaired, and removed a peridiscal cyst.

The Yankees estimated Paxton will be able to start throwing in about six weeks and could pitch in a major league game in three-to-four months.

ROCKIES: Ubaldo Jimenez will return to the mound for the Colorado Rockies in spring training.

The hard-throwing righty with the distinctive delivery was one of 21 players to receive a nonroster invitation to spring training from the Rockies. The list also includes catcher Drew Butera and infielder Chris Owings.

Jimenez, 36, hasn’t pitched in the majors since Sept. 22, 2017, with Baltimore. He was originally signed by Colorado as an amateur free agent while a teenager.

CUBS: The Cubs announced they signed former closer Brandon Morrow to a minor league contract and said he will report to big league spring training.

PHILLIES: The Philadelphia Phillies signed infielder Logan Forsythe and right-handers Anthony Swarzak, Blake Parker and Trevor Kelley to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training.

REDS: The Reds completed a one-year, $1,825,000 deal with right-hander Pedro Strop, their first move to upgrade the bullpen in an offseason focused on offense.

Strop, 34, was part of the Cubs’ bullpen the last six years. A hamstring injury limited him to 50 appearances last season, when he went 2-5 with a 4.97 ERA, 10 saves and six blown saves.

ARBITRATION: The Atlanta Braves defeated Shane Greene in the first salary arbitration case this year, and the reliever will be paid $6.25 million instead of his request for $6.75 million.

Arbitrators Gary Kendellen, Brian Keller and Allen Ponak made the decision a day after hearing arguments. A 31-year-old right-hander, Greene was a first-time All-Star last year, when he made $4 million.

TWINS-TIGERS: Major League Baseball is returning to the Dominican Republic for the first time in 20 years, with the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers playing a spring training game in Santo Domingo on March 7.

MLB has never played a regular-season game in the Dominican Republic. The last exhibition there was between Boston and Houston in 2000 at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal, also the site of this year’s game.