By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Reds announced Thursday that they were adding Edwin Encarnacion, William Bergolla and Phillip Dumatrait to the 40-man roster, essentially to keep them from being picked in the Rule 5 Draft.

What they didn't announce is that they were not adding Ty Howington to the 40-man roster.

Thus, come Dec. 15, any team can have Howington for $50,000. The catch is they would have to keep him on the 25-man roster for the entire year or offer him back to the Reds for $25,000.

"I talked to his agent and he asked if this meant we no longer considered Ty a prospect," player development director Tim Naehring said. "That's not the case at all. There's no way a team can protect all of its prospects."

Howington, a left-hander who just turned 23, was the Reds' top pick in the 1999 draft. They invested $1.75 million to sign him.

But injuries have slowed his progress.

He had a terrific year in 2001 - 8-5 with a 2.30 ERA in three stops in the minors - but shoulder problems limited him to 17 starts in 2002. This year, Howington was 7-7 with a 3.53 ERA at Single-A Potomac and 0-2 with a 6.19 ERA at Double-A Chattanooga.

The Reds don't think they will lose him. Howington doesn't fit into the role of a lefty specialist, whom a team could keep on the roster as the 12th pitcher.

MILEY'S NEXT: Former Chicago White Sox manager Jerry Manuel, Tampa Bay bench coach John McLaren and Pittsburgh director of player development Brian Graham have interviewed for the Reds manager's job.

After a break Saturday for the wedding of Grant Griesser, the assistant director of player development, interim manager Dave Miley will be interviewed today.

The Reds could name a new manager sometime this week, but it probably won't be Monday.

"We have a lot to digest and there's a chance we'll have a candidate or two back for a second interview," Reds general manager Dan O'Brien said.

Miley remains the favorite.

READY TO JUMP: If the 2004 season goes anything like last season, you could see Encarnacion and/or Bergolla in a Reds uniform.

The Reds would prefer to give them a year at Double-A. But that was the case with Ray Olmedo last season. Injuries changed that plan.

Encarnacion and Bergolla, both 20, are at stages in their development similar to where Olmedo was this time last year. Both are better offensive players than Olmedo.

Encarnacion came to the Reds in the 2001 Rob Bell trade with Texas.

Encarnacion hit .294 with 11 home runs and 65 RBI and stole 15 bases in 128 games at Single-A Potomac and Double-A Chattanooga last season.

Bergolla, a second baseman from Venezuela, is the closest thing the Reds have to a leadoff man among their prospects. He hit .272 with two home runs and 31 RBI at Potomac. He was third in the Carolina League with 52 steals.

SPEAKING OF RAY: Olmedo was hitting .348 through 20 games in Winter Ball in his native Venezuela.

D'Angelo Jimenez was hitting .385 with a homer and six RBI in 11 games in the Dominican. Wily Mo Pena was hitting .191 after 14 games.