SAN DIEGO -- Pitcher Heath Bell, the Padres' player union representative, said Tuesday he hopes the grievance filed against Khalil Greene won't affect the relationship between the shortstop and the organization.

"We need Khalil to forget what happened last year," Bell said. "He struggled last year ... and it was like he couldn't get out of a hole. He couldn't really get a day off because we didn't have anyone to fill in for him. But I think that he's capable of bouncing back and having a career year."

The Padres are pursuing a grievance against Greene after he missed the final two months of the regular season after fracturing his left hand while punching a storage cabinet after a strikeout on July 30.

The team is looking to recover as much as $1.47 million of Greene's $4.5 million salary because of the injury. Team CEO Sandy Alderson told the San Diego Union-Tribune that while the team was seeking payment for missed time, the motive behind the grievance was not just about money.

"In a specific sense, it's about recovering payment for services not rendered based on contract language that legally supports our position," Alderson told the Union-Tribune. "In the larger sense, it's about deterring this kind of conduct in the future because the consequences can be critical to a team."

The players' association is representing Greene on the matter, Bell said. A decision on the grievance won't likely be made before Spring Training.

Bell said that he hasn't talked to Greene yet about the grievance, but that wasn't unusual.

"It hasn't crossed my desk. I think Khalil is going to the direct guys [players association]; I'm the middle man," Bell said. "If you have a question, you go to your union rep. But it's something I'm following."

Greene, who didn't return a call from MLB.com, hit .213 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs with 100 strikeouts in 105 games. In 2007, the 28-year-old Greene hit .254 with 27 home runs and 97 RBIs.

Greene is scheduled to make $6.5 million in 2009, the final year of his existing contract.