INSIDE BASEBALL

Cummings and Goings

by Tim Crothers

Posted: Wed April 1, 1998

"It's not a nice feeling to be told you're not good enough," Leyland said. "That's why I've always hated spring training, because it seems like you're always telling someone that they're traded or cut or some other bad news. It breaks their heart, and there's nothing you can say that gives them much consolation."

As spring training wrapped up last week, 30 big league managers finalized their rosters by delivering good news and bad news to scores of players both young and old. The following are among the most interesting eleventh-hour transactions.

Diamondbacks release right-hander Hector Carrasco.
Throughout spring training it appeared that Carrasco was being groomed to be Arizona's closer. However, despite a 3-0 record and a 3.86 ERA in Cactus League play, Carrasco was cut on March 25. The knock on him: His 95-mph fastball is too flat, and he has yet to develop a second pitch. He doesn't have enough command of his slider to spot it for strikes early in the count, so he tends to fall behind. That, in turn, makes his predictable heater even more vulnerable.

Carrasco, the projected closer for first-year Arizona, was a surprise cut.    (Otto Greule Jr./Allsport)

Still, it's odd to see an expansion team cut a 28-year-old pitcher who throws 95 mph, and then hear the club's manager, Buck Showalter, explain by saying, "He got rostered out." Arizona has shown no reluctance to spend money, but the Diamondbacks did save more than $500,000 by releasing Carrasco before Opening Day. The closer job now falls to unproven Felix Rodriguez, a former catcher in the Dodgers chain, who has pitched only 56 2/3 major league innings and has never recorded a save.

White Sox sign Wil Cordero to one-year deal with option for '99.
The franchise that has treated us to wacky sideshows from Michael Jordan to Bo Jackson and George Bell to Albert Belle vowed this winter that it was through with distractions. Apparently that promise was just a distraction, because on March 23 Chicago welcomed Cordero, who was arrested last June 11 for allegedly striking his wife, Ana, and threatening to kill her, then pleaded guilty to four charges on Nov. 3, including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Now Cordero's ugly reputation precedes him everywhere he goes.

Despite the best season of his career—he hit .281 with 18 homers and 72 RBIs for Boston last year—the Red Sox released him on Sept. 28. In late February, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman expressed interest in signing Cordero, a move that generated such negative public reaction in New York that Cashman stopped pursuing the 26-year-old infielder-outfielder just days later. Cordero phoned new White Sox skipper Jerry Manuel, who had managed him at Double A Jacksonville in '90 and later coached him in Montreal. Manuel invited Cordero to the White Sox camp for a couple of days of evaluations, and then Chicago signed him to a $1 million deal that requires him to undergo weekly counseling.

Alas, Cordero has already become a distraction. On March 25 he was scheduled to report to camp in Tucson but didn't show up because his estranged wife had gone into labor with their second child, who was born with a minor deformity that required hand surgery, delaying Cordero's departure from Puerto Rico.

Cordero will be assigned to Double A Birmingham to work himself into shape. The next question is whether Cordero can play first base, the only position available to him in Chicago but one he has played just once in his career. The White Sox don't seem concerned about the potential upheaval that will attend Cordero's arrival in Chicago. As general manager Ron Schueler says, "Look at his numbers. Who couldn't use a bat like that?"

Athletics sign free agent Kevin Mitchell to one-year contract.
At the beginning of March, Mitchell was playing shortstop on a San Diego slo-pitch softball team and thinking his baseball career was history. Then on March 9 he was signed by Oakland after a glowing recommendation from his friend Dusty Baker, the Giants manager.

SEARCH CNN/SI

Since the start of the '92 season Mitchell, 36, has played for the Mariners, Reds, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, Red Sox, Reds again and Indians; he has had just 265 major league at bats during the past three seasons. This off-season Mitchell got his weight down to around 245 in hopes of getting one more chance. He made an excellent first impression on the Athletics by hitting a pair of home runs in his first spring game.

Expected primarily to be the DH against lefthanded pitching, Mitchell could also see time in the outfield and at first base. Oakland hopes he can add some pop to a lineup that has been lacking righthanded power since last July's trade of Mark McGwire.

Indians release second baseman Carlos Garcia.
What happened to this guy? He played in the 1994 All Star Game and hit .285 as recently as '96. Now his baseball future is in jeopardy. After being traded from the Pirates to the Blue Jays in November '96, Garcia hit just .220 in 350 at bats last season, unable to adjust to the American League's emphasis on the breaking ball. His rapid decline led to rumors that Garcia is older than the 30 years he claims to be. Says Toronto general manager Gord Ash, "His physical skills just went."

Indians general manager John Hart signed Garcia during the winter, only to watch him battle through the spring hitting .192. Hart eventually replaced him with the 35-year-old Shawon Dunston.

Phillies release outfielder Midre Cummings.
Red Sox claim Cummings.
Cummings declines to report, elects free agency.
Reds sign Cummings to minor league contract.
Reds sign Cummings to major league contract.
Reds ask waivers on Cummings.
Red Sox claim Cummings.
While Cummings, 26, has hit .300 or better in five minor league seasons, he has been a profound disappointment in the majors, where he has batted .244. He did hit .303 with the Phillies after being claimed on waivers from the Pirates last July, but Philadelphia was so put off by his poor attitude and work habits that they traded for outfielder Doug Glanville and released Cummings.

After refusing a minor league contract from Boston, Cummings had just two hits in 22 at bats with Cincinnati this spring and found himself rejected by yet another organization. "Midre is hard to figure, and I think we're wasting our time and energy when we try," said Phillies hitting instructor Hal McRae, who worked with Cummings in camp.

After his woeful performance with the Reds, Cummings was relieved when the Red Sox guaranteed him a spot on their 25-man roster, which might say less about Cummings than it does about the Boston outfield. "I have a lot of mileage," Cummings says. "I'm more in driving shape than in baseball shape right now."

Issue date: April 6, 1998