When the season ended, Reds general manager Jim Bowden promised changes. So far all has been quiet. The Reds have done some minor housekeeping to get the 40-man roster in order, but the starting eight and core of the pitching staff remains unchanged.

        That could be changing fairly quickly.

        Despite baseball's uncertain labor situation, a baseball source says that trade talks that would send out Pokey Reese and Dmitri Young in exchange for pitching are heating up. Reese and Young are arbitration eligible this year. They both figure to make in the range of $4 million and would become free agents after the season.

        Reese wants out. Young has never asked for a trade but he's been less than happy at times.

        Bowden is asking for starting pitching in all trade talks. Among the players the Reds are pursuing:

        • Atlanta's Kevin Millwood. He's coming off a mediocre year (7-7, 4.31). But he's only 26 and was 18-7 with a 2.68 ERA in 1999.

        • Right-handers Sidney Ponson and Jason Johnson of Baltimore. Ponson was 5-10 with a 4.90 ERA, but he's 25 with a good arm. Johnson, 28, is the Conner High grad. He blossomed late. He was 10-12 with 4.09 ERA this year.

        • Kip Wells, a 24-year-old right-hander with the Chicago White Sox. He was 10-11 with a 4.79 ERA.

        • St. Louis' Dustin Hermanson, a 27-year-old right-hander. The Reds nearly got Hermanson before last season, but a potential deal broke down because of his salary. He went 14-13 with a 4.45 ERA.

        • Juan Cruz, a 20-year-old right-hander with the Chicago Cubs. Cruz was 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA in eight starts after being called up from the minors.

        All make sense.

        The Braves need to add punch to their lineup. Young does that. He can play first base or left field. Remember, the Braves had ancient Julio Franco at first in the playoffs.

        The Orioles are rebuilding. They just released left fielder Brady Anderson.

        The White Sox have a lot of good young pitching, although they are fairly set in the outfield and at first base.

        St. Louis needs to replace Mark McGwire. A lot of speculation is that they'll try to do so with Jason Giambi. But they're battling to keep their payroll below $90 million, and the Yankees seem the frontrunner for Giambi.

        Cubs manager Don Baylor likes Reese. If he likes him enough to convince management that he's worth trading Cruz for, the Reds would do it.

        THE REPLACEMENTS:

        The Reds probably would be trying to trade Young and Reese anyway, but what happened in the Arizona Fall League helped things along.

        Austin Kearns won the AFL batting title with a .371 average. He also led in on-base percentage (.460). He was third in slugging percentage (.578) and fourth in RBI (31).

        The Reds would like to give Kearns a year at Triple-A. But, given the payroll, they could live with him, Ruben Mateo, Wily Mo Pena or Brady Clark in the outfield with Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn.

        Shortstop Gookie Dawkins hit .331 in the AFL and was second in the league in hits (45) and steals (10).

        Dawkins probably will start the year in Triple-A. But he could be called up if Barry Larkin or Todd Walker is hurt. That middle infield depth makes Reese more expendable.

        BLAST FROM PAST:

        Jeff Shaw is no longer a Los Angeles Dodger. Shaw is a former Red. Shaw lives in Washington Court House. He loves small-town life so much that he commuted home when he was a Red.

        So it would appear the Reds would have a major home-field advantage when pursuing Shaw, who saved 43 games last year.

        Shaw couldn't be reached for comment, but he's let the Reds know he's interested.

        Signing him would allow the Reds to use Danny Graves as a starter.

        But like everything the Reds do, it depends on money.

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