BOSTON — Reds general manager Jim Bowden spoke of Dmitri Young as though he were the guy Bowden was getting in the trade — not the one he was letting go.

        “He represented the Reds the way we wanted them to be represented,” Bowden said. “He played with enthusiasm that rubbed off on his teammates.

        “He was a guy you wanted to play in Great American Ball Park.”

        Instead of being part of the core for the future, Young was traded to Detroit for outfielder Juan Encarnacion and right-hander Luis Pineda in a salary-dumping deal.

        Young parted without a parting shot.

        “I would never rip the Reds,” he said. “My four years there were great. I learned a lot. I grew as a player and a person. If you're not in a super-duper big market, you've got to keep salaries down. It's business.”

        Young, 28, was popular with fans because he played so hard and looked like he was having so much fun. He was equally popular in the clubhouse.

        “I wish those guys who remain nothing but the best,” he said. “We just don't know if anyone's going to be left.”

        Because he was constantly part of trade talks the last few years with the Reds, Young welcomed the move.

        “I'll be able to play the bulk of my time at first base,” he said. “That's good for me. And change will be good. It was necessary.”

        Young, the Tigers think, is a good fit for Comerica Park.

        “It's a line drive-hitter's park,” he said. “I go gap to gap. Hopefully, I'll hit a lot of doubles and triples.”

        Young tore up Comerica in the series the Reds played there in 2000. He went 7-for-11 with a homer and three RBI.

        Bowden said it's not impossible Young may end up back in Cincinnati.

        “You never know,” Bowden said. “Dmitri may see our new park and our young players and come back as a free agent.”

Young traded to Detroit SULLIVAN: A move that helps only the payroll Reds, Young swap parting compliments New double plays in N.Y.: Alomar to Ordonez

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