Jim Bowden, Cincinnati's general manager from 1992-2003, will be announced as Washington's GM on Tuesday, a league official said Monday on the condition of anonymity.

Bowden will oversee offseason trades and signings for a team that has announced it will move to Washington next season if the local government approves funding for a new ballpark. He replaces Omar Minaya, who resigned during the final week of the regular season to become general manager of the New York Mets.

However, the Washington team, owned by the 29 other major league clubs, is for sale and at least two dozen potential buyers have shown interest. Although Monday had been set as a deadline for expressing interest, baseball officials say they will continue to accept feelers from potential owners for another week or two.

Once the sale is completed, which isn't expected until late in the offseason or early during the regular season, the new owners might hire their own front office personnel, making Bowden's job a temporary one.

Major League Baseball had originally targeted Bob Watson, baseball's vice president of on-field operations, for the general manager's job. Watson turned down the offer because he would have been paid the same salary he's currently making, according to a major league team official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bowden was the youngest general manager in major league history when he took the position with the Reds in 1992 at age 31. The Reds made the playoffs only once during his 101/2 seasons in Cincinnati, when they advanced to the NL championship series in 1995.

Bowden promised a winner when the Reds moved into a new ballpark in 2003, but he was fired midway through the season with the team 12 games under .500.

Bowden's biggest move came in February 2000, when he traded for Ken Griffey Jr.

"I think this is a guy who is as sharp a trader as there is in recent years," agent Tom Reich said. "I think it's a good and gutsy selection."

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