By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Reds' brass will meet today after their game with Minnesota and trim the roster close to the 25-man Opening Day limit. "We'll make some difficult decisions," Reds general manager Dan O'Brien said.

Maybe the most difficult one will involve outfielder Wily Mo Pena.

Wily Mo Pena has been playing well of late. (Michael E. Keating photo)

O'Brien has said the Pena decision will be based on performance. Pena, 22, has performed well. He went into Monday night's game hitting .481 with two home runs and nine RBI over his last 13 games.

Pena replaced Ken Griffey Jr. after Griffey strained his right calf Monday, and promptly hit a long home run to right-center in his first at-bat.

"To the credit of Wily Mo, he's worked exceedingly hard ... on his outfield play and with Chris Chambliss on hitting," O'Brien said. "Chris has made a difference, specifically related to making hard contact. That's one thing that stood out."

But Pena's defense still isn't major league caliber, and there's the matter of where to play him. If Austin Kearns, Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn stay healthy, Pena won't get enough playing time to develop.

Pena is out of options, so the Reds have to put him on waivers to send him down to the minors.

Therein lies the dilemma: Do you risk losing someone with a future so bright to keep a player who's your 25th man? In the Reds case, that would probably be Jermaine Clark, whom they signed as a minor league free agent.

What happens with Pena may tip the Reds' hand on what they are thinking regarding Griffey.

If they are going to trade Griffey, it would open a spot for Pena.

ON BONG: O'Brien said a decision will be made soon on what to do with Jung Keun Bong, the left-hander obtained from Atlanta on Thursday.

The Reds want to use Bong as a starter, but Atlanta used him as reliever this spring. Five of his six outings were one or two innings.

"We're going to look at that the next couple of days," O'Brien said.

If Bong goes to Triple-A, it would give the Reds a rotation at Louisville full of prospects. Brandon Claussen, Bubba Nelson (also obtained from Atlanta), Dustin Moseley and Matt Belisle figure to be there as well.

LETTING LOOSE: Austin Kearns said his right shoulder felt better after he cranked a throw to home in Sunday's game. "I felt like it loosened it up," he said.

Kearns is coming off shoulder surgery. He wasn't able to play in the field for 10 games of spring training while completing his throwing rehab.

Most of the throws before Sunday were to the cutoff man.

"I've been waiting for a chance to let one loose," Kearns said. "That's the first one."

CHARITABLE CASE: Sean Casey is funding a "Character Education" program Kim Nuxhall, Joe's son, has started in the Fairfield schools.

"It emphasizes respect, patience, courage," Casey said. "... I thought it was great idea."

SIGNS, SIGNS: The Reds had a pregame meeting Monday to go over signs. It was merely a refresher course. "We've been outstanding all spring," Reds manager Dave Miley said. "I don't think we've had a missed sign all spring. (Third base coach) Mark Barry has done a great job with that."

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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com