LOS ANGELES — Speaking to reporters for the first time since he underwent surgery on a bulging disk in his back on July 3, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal said yesterday he was sure he would play again this season.

Furcal said he was told by Dr. Robert Watkins, who performed the operation, that his recovery would take anywhere from six to eight weeks, meaning he could be back in late August.

"I feel much better than I did before," said Furcal, who was hitting a team-leading .366 when he was put on the disabled list on May 13. "I feel only sore in one part."

That wasn't the case, Furcal said, when he woke up on July 1, the day after he played for triple-A Las Vegas in what was supposed to be the first game of a three- or four-game minor league rehabilitation assignment.

Furcal said he felt pain in every part of his back. More alarming was that the pain ran down his left leg.

"I didn't want to take a chance," he said.

Furcal is a free agent at the end of the season, but he said he wouldn't rush back for the sake of raising his stock.

"For me, getting healthy is the first thing," he said. "Free agency is another thing. I don't want to think of free agency when I can't do anything about it."

First-round draft pick Ethan Martin was signed to a contract that included a $1.73 million signing bonus and took part in batting practice with the Dodgers.

Martin will be developed as a pitcher, but the 19-year-old from Georgia was wanted by a couple of other teams as a third baseman. Seeing Martin hit four home runs in batting practice, Dodgers Manager Joe Torre asked, "Are you sure you want to pitch?"

Replied Martin, "Yes sir, I guess so."

Martin didn't start pitching full-time until he was a junior in high school but said he was confident in the call made by assistant general manager Logan White to make him a pitcher, based on White's track record. White faced a similar decision when drafting James Loney in 2002 and decided to make him a first baseman instead of a pitcher.

"It makes me feel good inside that he knows what he's doing," Martin said of White.

Martin will travel Sunday to Vero Beach, Fla., home of the Dodgers' rookie ball affiliate. White said the hard-throwing Martin had a heavy workload this spring — he threw 130 pitches in one game — and will be limited to 35 to 40 innings for the remainder of the year.