The top-ranked prospect in all of baseball was told he was one of five roster cuts and that he would start the regular season at Triple-A Louisville. Manager Dusty Baker and general manager Wayne Krivsky informed Bruce he would be sent down.
"I knew what they'd tell me when I went in there," Bruce said at the Reds complex in Sarasota. "You don't want to get sent down. It's disappointing. But I will feed off of it, go to Louisville and play well."
Bruce, 20, who was named the No. 1 prospect in 2008 by Baseball America, was seeking to become the Reds' starting center fielder in a battle that started with Ryan Freel and Norris Hopper.
The race tightened when veteran center fielder Corey Patterson was signed on the urging of Baker. Like Bruce, Patterson is a left-handed hitter.
"When they signed Patterson, I knew the writing was on the wall," Bruce said. "They have an idea of what they wanted to do. I'll keep doing my thing and try to force the issue this season and see them soon."
Bruce certainly didn't have a bad spring at the plate but he probably needed to have a great one to erase all doubts about his big league chances at this early stage of his career. He batted .262 (11-for-42) with three RBIs in 16 games.
After starting out hot, with hits in each of his first five games, Bruce's cause wasn't helped when he sustained a mild strain of his left quadriceps muscle on March 2. He missed nearly a week and during that time, the Reds signed Patterson.
In the other cuts, Cincinnati optioned outfielder Drew T. Anderson and reliever Marcus McBeth to Louisville. Like Bruce, pitchers Josh Roenicke and Tom Shearn were reassigned to the Minor League camp.
No comments:
Post a Comment