Thursday, March 16, 2000Minors Deion's way to majors?
He'll get at-bats, then be re-evaluated
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati EnquirerSARASOTA, Fla. — Seizing upon the suggestion Deion Sanders made a day earlier, General Manager Jim Bowden said Wednesday that the outfielder will spend a week playing in minor-league games to try to regain his baseball form.
“Don't hold me to six, seven or eight days because I'm not that smart,” Bowden said, explaining that Sanders' weeklong assignment is “approximate.”
No matter how long this trial period lasts, Sanders' participation in minor-league intrasquad and exhibition games is meant to serve two purposes: Helping him while giving his teammates more chances to prepare.
“When the week's up, we'll go back and assess it. If all's well, we'll put him back over in (regular) games and he'll play,” Bowden said. “But in the meantime, we have to get these guys ready to go play. If he's (in major-league exhibitions), he can't get five at-bats every day. We have to get Dmitri Young, (Ken) Griffey (Jr.), (Dante) Bichette, (Michael) Tucker and (Alex) Ochoa their at-bats.”
Sanders, who hasn't played baseball since 1997, went 0-for-3 against Philadelphia in his first exhibition appearance Tuesday. He remains squarely behind those five outfielders and Kimera Bartee on the Reds' depth chart, and still lacks the speed that made him a threat on the basepaths. Sanders underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in January.
As Bowden said, “Whether he can get healthy, I don't know. Will all his speed come back? I don't know. We haven't seen it. Right now what we see is an average runner.”
Perpetually upbeat, Sanders flashed his sense of humor after spending his first day on the practice diamonds, batting lead off in each inning. “I saw every lefty they have back there except Fernando Valenzuela,” he said.
Sanders recalled scratching out one hit in his nine plate appearances — “The shortstop and left fielder almost had a collision” — and drawing four or five walks. “I'm therefore seeing a lot of pitches, and that's a good thing,” he said.
Placing Sanders on the disabled list and leaving him in extended spring training in Florida remains a possibility. But Bowden doesn't have to make such decisions yet.
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