Monday, May 10, 1999
Lefty Villone likely to join Reds soon
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The growth of the Reds pitching staff from 10 to 11 likely will become reality later this week with the expected promotion of left-hander Ron Villone from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Time is a factor. Villone has a contract that allows him to ask for his release if he's not summoned to Cincinnati by Saturday.
Because the Reds are off today and Thursday, adding a pitcher probably won't become essential before the weekend.
Villone's numbers — a 1.15 ERA in 16 appearances, 21 strikeouts in 15ö innings — has General Manager Jim Bowden eager to see him in a Reds uniform.
If, or when, Villone arrives, the Reds bullpen would be evenly balanced between left-handers (Villone, Dennys Reyes and Gabe White) and righties (Danny Graves, Scott Sullivan and Scott Williamson).
“We think we're getting toward that time of the year when we need to go to 11 pitchers,” Bowden said Sunday, noting that he has discussed the matter with manager Jack McKeon. “Ron has pitched very, very well. He deserves a chance. I've always felt the ideal bullpen would be three lefties and three righties. We've really never been able to do it.”
Bowden is reluctant to drop a player to make room for Villone, but he and McKeon may have no choice. Because no trades appear imminent, Cincinnati's only recourse might be to demote either outfielder Michael Tucker or pinch-hitting specialist Mark Sweeney, the only position players with minor-league options.
“I don't want to take anybody off the roster. That's really the problem,” Bowden said. “My preference would be to option a player so that if there's injuries, we still have control of him.”
Trading Villone, who has attracted considerable interest from other teams, is another alternative. But, as Bowden said, “We can't trade pitching. You're going to need it later on.”
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