Saturday, March 25, 2000
Reds admire Edmonds deal
REDS NOTEBOOK
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SARASOTA, Fla. — Various Reds responded with admiration to the St. Louis Cardinals' acquisition of center fielder Jim Edmonds from Anaheim for right-hander Kent Bottenfield and infielder Adam Kennedy.
The Cardinals, expected to be one of Cincinnati's chief rivals in the National League Central Division, lost an 18-game winner in Bottenfield and a decent prospect in Kennedy. But they gained an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in Edmonds.
“It's a good deal for the Cardinals,” third baseman Aaron Boone said. “It obviously made their depth and lineup a little stronger. On paper, they're looking pretty strong over there.”
Reds General Manager Jim Bowden agreed.
“It's a tremendous upgrade,” Bowden said. “It made their outfield defense one of the best in the division.”
Left fielder Dmitri Young remarked on the unexpectedness of the deal, because most rumors had Edmonds going to Oakland, Seattle or the New York Yankees.
“Weird,” Young said. “I wasn't expecting him to go there. Of all the teams he was supposed to go to, St. Louis was never mentioned.”
INJURY UPDATES: Boone should be able to return to full duty soon. Bothered by a mildly sprained left ankle, Boone pinch-hit in Friday's seventh inning and hit an RBI single that gave Cincinnati a brief 4-3 lead.
Right fielder Dante Bichette reported briefly to the training facility but was sent home with flu-like symptoms.
X-rays of third baseman Mark Lewis' sore right big toe revealed no serious damage. Lewis hasn't played since Wednesday.
WISE MOVE: Bowden said he would take back outfielder DeWayne Wise, who was selected by Toronto from the Reds' system last December in the Rule 5 draft. The Blue Jays must offer Wise to Cincinnati if they don't keep him on their major-league roster.
“We like DeWayne Wise,” Bowden said after watching the 22-year-old, who has never played above Single-A, go 1-for-5. “We don't think he's ready for the majors. If they were to keep him, they're going to hurt his development. And I don't think that's fair to the kid.”
ETC.: Outfielder Deion Sanders was available to play against Toronto, but manager Jack McKeon couldn't find an opportunity to squeeze him in. Having mostly recovered from his sore right ankle, Sanders joined the major-league Reds after getting some of at-bats in a minor-league game.
› The Reds trimmed their spring roster to 30 players by reassigning first baseman-outfielder Brooks Kieschnick to Triple-A Louisville. Kieschnick, 27, hit .292 with two homers and six RBI in 15 exhibition games.
• The Reds announced that six-year-old Whitney Ramos of Covington and 12-year-old Robbie Schlenser of Cincinnati, as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, will be the grand marshals of the 81st Findlay Market Parade on Opening Day. Gov. Bob Taft will throw the ceremonial first pitch and 98 Degrees will sing the national anthem.
› Right-hander Pete Harnisch, the Reds' likely Opening Day starter, remained on his work schedule by throwing 100 pitches in six innings in an exhibition game against a Pittsburgh Pirates farm team.
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