DENVER - When the Chicago White Sox told Jason Bere he was moving to the bullpen, he believed they weren't giving him a fair chance to come back from his elbow surgery, so he asked to be traded.
That was mid-June. A month later, Bere does find himself with a new team, but only after signing a minor-league contract with the Reds this week. He slipped through waivers and wasn't claimed, and when he was released by the Sox, Reds general manager Jim Bowden acted to snatch up a pitcher he and pitching coach Don Gullett believe is worth the time and effort.
Bere, a 27-year old, right-handed pitcher, joined the Reds Thursday in Denver, but he won't throw for Gullett until Friday. Later on, he may face live hitters, then eventually head out to Triple-A Indianapolis in hopes of getting back to the big leagues.
Bere was just happy to be back in a major league clubhouse. He spent more than a week out of the game after the Sox placed him on waivers. "Sitting at home for 10 days in the middle of a baseball season isn't what I planned on," he said. "But it's all behind me now."
After winning 12 games in both 1993 and '94 for the White Sox (then one of the top young teams in baseball), Bere was headed for stardom. But in 1996, those plans were derailed by an elbow injury that required surgery, and he didn't return to the big leagues again until late 1997.
Bere has had some success since his return last August, but was 3-7 with a 6.45 ERA in 18 games (15 starts) this season. The Sox demoted him to the bullpen in June, and he balked because he believes he needs the innings as a starter to fully return from the injury.
"I don't feel pain," he said Thursday with his arms crossed over his head, the scar of surgery visible along his right elbow.
"It's just a matter of going out every fifth day and building up the strength. I don't like to call it rehab or coming back, but it takes a full year, maybe two years."
The Reds - salvage-master Gullett in particular - believe Bere, still relatively young at 27, can get back to his pre-surgery level with time and work. Gullet, in fact, was talking about Bere long before the Sox released him.
Bowden wanted to trade for Bere, but couldn't get approval from managing executive John Allen to take on the remainder of Bere's contract. So they waited until he was a free agent.
"It's always nice to be somewhere they want you," Bere said. "Even this season, I've shown some real signs of getting my velocity back. I think I can be better than I was before the injury. I certainly know more than I did. But everyone who's had this just needs time."
Game 1: Rockies 6, Reds 4
Game 2: Rockies 6, Reds 4
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