BALTIMORE - Rafael Palmeiro will be welcomed back to the Baltimore Orioles by interim manager Sam Perlozzo, who expects the slugger to be an important part of the lineup after serving his 10-day suspension for using steroids.

Palmeiro is eligible to return Thursday, and Perlozzo wants him back. He spoke with Palmeiro over the weekend when Baltimore was playing in Texas, and the first baseman told him he was eager to return.

“I actually called just to tell him that my wife and I were thinking about him and his family and hoped the kids and everyone was doing OK,” Perlozzo said Tuesday. “I told him if he needed to talk to give me a call, so he called me.

“He’s looking forward to coming back. He said, ‘Do you still want me?’ I said, ‘You better believe it.”’

Perlozzo took over for fired manager Lee Mazzilli on Aug. 4, three days after Palmeiro received his suspension from Major League Baseball. Perlozzo is treating his first managerial stint in the majors as an audition to earn the job on a full-time basis in 2006, and figures Palmeiro will help.

“My business now is to see that the team plays as good as they can and they win as many as they can, and Raffy is a big part of that,” Perlozzo said. “He’s part of the team.”

THE PALMEIRO STEROID SCANDAL      Robinson wants to ‘wipe out’ Raffy’s stats Celizic's blog: Bud, you're late to the party Interactive: Is Palmeiro a Hall of Famer? Interactive: Who's Who of steroid crisis

Palmeiro told a House committee in March that he never used steroids. Upon receiving his suspension, Palmeiro insisted that he never intentionally introduced steroids into his system.

Days later, however, a person with knowledge of the sport’s drug-testing program told The Associated Press, on condition of anonymity, that Palmeiro tested positive for the powerful steroid stanozolol. The person did not want to be identified because the sport prohibits disclosure of test results without authorization.

Because of the disclosure, Palmeiro will likely create a stir upon his return. But Perlozzo is willing to put up with that to have his potent bat in the lineup.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures   Oct. 3 - 9 Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.

“I’m not a judge and a jury here,” Perlozzo said. “I’m a baseball guy that wants our team to win, and if Raffy’s the guy, and he goes through the proper channels and is allowed to come back and play, we’re going to take him back.”

Palmeiro on July 15 became the fourth player in major league history to have 3,000 hits and 500 homers, and the Orioles planned a celebration in his honor on Sunday. But the celebration was called off at Palmeiro’s request.