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Baseball briefs

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 17, 2000

Possibilities for Rays in 2001: Abernathy, White and Hamilton

ST. PETERSBURG -- A new logo and uniform might not be the only fresh features for the Devil Rays at Tropicana Field in 2001.

While unveiling their logo Thursday night, Rays officials fielded questions from several hundred season-ticket holders.

The message from general manager Chuck LaMar was that the Rays are not likely to have a lot of extra money to spend on free agents, but there still may be new faces in the lineup.

U.S. Olympian Brent Abernathy could challenge for the job at second base, $10.2-million pitching prospect Matt White may be ready to break into the majors and, most surprisingly, 1999 No. 1 pick Josh Hamilton will be given an opportunity to win the job in rightfield in spring training.

"I can't say that it's necessarily realistic that Josh Hamilton makes the ballclub, but I'm not going to rule out the possibility," LaMar said. "We think he has a chance to be an outstanding player. He has the makeup to be able to handle struggles. We are not going to put him in over his head, but we want him to come to spring knowing he has a legitimate chance.

"At this time last year nobody would have dreamt that the National League Rookie of the Year (Rafael Furcal) would come out of Class A and play shortstop for the Atlanta Braves."

The Rays plan on using a new uniform style in 2001 and began the switch Thursday night by introducing a new cap logo. The "TB" in the cap is now a dark shade of green instead of an amalgam of colors and is perfectly straight instead of slanted. LaMar said most major-league teams tinker with uniform designs every few years and the Rays were due.

"We tried to look more traditional in color and the look of the uniforms and I think you'll see that when all of the unveiling is done," LaMar said. "We wanted something that would appeal to fans and be traditional too."

BLUE JAYS: Toronto and Texas will open the 2001 season in Puerto Rico, the third straight year baseball has started outside the United States or Canada. The Blue Jays game will be April 1 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

CUBS: Free-agent right-hander Julian Tavarez signed a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $5-million. With incentives, the 27-year-old could make more than $7-million. Moved into the starting rotation for the second half of the season, he was 5-3 with a 3.80 ERA with the Rockies.

INDIANS: Looking for a backup catcher as contract talks with Sandy Alomar stalled, the team acquired Eddie Taubensee from the Reds for pitchers Jim Brower and Robert Pugmire. Taubensee, 32, batted .267 last season with six homers and 24 RBI in 81 games. Alomar, 34, a free agent, may not be re-signed and the team may give Einar Diaz a chance to be its regular catcher.

MARINERS: Todd Williams, the Olympic gold medalist who set a Pacific Coast League record with 32 saves for Tacoma last season, was released along with first baseman Brian Lesher.

ORIOLES: The team purchased the contracts of pitchers Josh Towers and Sean Douglass from minor-league affiliates. Towers was 8-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 24 starts with Triple-A Rochester in 2000.

PADRES: San Diego apparently hasen't gotten far in efforts to acquire outfielder Jeromy Burnitz from the Brewers for third baseman Phil Nevin. The Padres got permission from the Brewers to talk with Burnitz, key to a four-player treade. The Padres would not make the trade without signing Burnitz to a contract extension, because he would be eligible for free agency after the 2001 season. The proposed deal would send Nevin and reliever Heathcliff Slocumb to the Brewers for Burnitz and prospect Santiago Perez, the Associated Press reported.

PHILLIES: Former player John Kruk was named to the player development staff. Kruk, 39, played 10 seasons, six with the Phillies. A three-time All-Star, Kruk was on the 1993 National League champions and hit .316 with 14 home runs and 85 RBI.

PIRATES: Three-time All-Star catcher Jason Kendall will sign a six-year contract today expected to be worth about $60-million. ... The team declined to exercise its $3.85-million contract option on right-hander Francisco Cordova.

REDS: Manager Bob Boone filled out his coaching staff by hiring Tim Foli, who spent the 2000 season as a minor-league infield and baserunning coordinator for the Mets. The Reds also added left-handed pitcher Justin Atchley, who was 8-6 with a 5.89 ERA and one save in 19 starts and 11 relief appearances for Triple-A Louisville. Infielder Chris Stynes was traded to the Red Sox for outfielder Michael Coleman and infielder Donnie Sadler.

YANKEES: The team signed a $6.5-million, one-year contract with outfielder Paul O'Neill. Despite a hip injury, O'Neill finished with a .283 average, 18 homers and 100 RBIs. He became the fourth Yankees outfielder to record at least four straight 100-RBI seasons, joining Babe Ruth (1926-33), Joe DiMaggio (1936-42) and Dave Winfield (1982-86). In the post-season, O'Neill, who will be 38 next season, hit .310 with seven RBI in 16 games. In the World Series, he batted 9-for-19. ... The MSG Network agreed to match a $52-million, one-year contract with a division of the International Management Group. MSG asked that a judge decide whether the network should be able to match any offer at the end of the 2001 season.

- Information from Times wires was used in this report.

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