Reds to call up Guillen from Triple-A

By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Reds put Ken Griffey Jr. on the 15-day disabled list Monday. They are expected to recall outfielder Jose Guillen from Triple-A Louisville today to take Griffey's spot on the roster.

That doesn't necessarily end the Barry Larkin-center field experiment.

"The two are unrelated," Reds general manager Jim Bowden said.

But it does end the chances of the Reds signing Greg Vaughn.

"We like our young outfielders," Bowden said. "Greg doesn't fit for us."

Guillen, 26, hit .248 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 31 games for the Reds last year. He was the everyday right fielder after Austin Kearns got hurt.

With the promotion of Guillen, the Reds still have six outfielders and one extra infielder. Another option would have been to bring infielder Juan Castro back from the DL.

"Jose gave us quality at-bats in spring training," Bowden said. "He can come off the bench and put the ball in play."

Reggie Taylor started in center field for Griffey Sunday. Reds manager Bob Boone talked about platooning Taylor and Ruben Mateo in center.

The plan is for Larkin to take flyballs before the Reds' game in Houston tonight. But playing Larkin in center leaves the Reds with no backup infielders. There was nothing new on Griffey Monday.

The Reds did place Pete Harnisch on the seven-day disabled list at Louisville. Harnisch left Sunday's game with a tight hamstring.

He is scheduled to start a week from today for Louisville at Charlotte.