Updated: Jan. 24, 2006, 7:17 PM ET
Bagwell plans to report, though Astros say he's hurt
Associated Press


HOUSTON -- Jeff Bagwell's agent said the four-time All-Star is
planning to show up at spring training, despite the Houston Astros'
contention that he's too hurt to play.


"He believes he's going to be ready for the start of the season,"
Barry Axelrod said Tuesday. "That's what we're counting on."

Bagwell did not immediately respond to an interview request from The
Associated Press.

The 37-year-old Bagwell had surgery on his arthritic right throwing
shoulder in June. Doctors who examined him told the Astros this
month that the shoulder was still too damaged to expect Bagwell to
be productive this season.

The Astros said Monday they intend to file an insurance claim by a
Jan. 31 deadline to recoup $15.6 million of the $17 million they owe
Bagwell this season. Team spokesman Jimmy Stanton said the claim had
not been filed Tuesday.

For the Astros to collect, the insurance provider would have to deem
Bagwell unable to play. Astros general manager Tim Purpura said
Monday that Bagwell is "disabled at this time for playing
professional baseball."

Bagwell told the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday that he's disappointed
by how much it seems the Astros want him to quit.

"To me more than anything else, it's just amazing how bad they don't
want me to play," Bagwell told the newspaper. "They just want to
collect their money. It's an awkward situation."

Bagwell has spent all of his 15 major-league seasons in Houston and
is one of the franchise's best and most popular all-time players.
The dispute, he said, may have damaged his relationship with the
team forever.

"It probably will never be fixed between me and the Astros," the
first baseman told the newspaper.

But the bitterness won't keep Bagwell from reporting to the Astros'
spring training center in Kissimmee, Fla., on Feb. 24, Axelrod said.
Though he still doesn't have full range of motion in the shoulder,
Axelrod said Bagwell believes he can be nearly 100 percent healthy
by April.

"That's still his approach," Axelrod said. "When we were told that
January 31st was when the determination had to be made, we were
caught off guard by that. The fact is, a determination can't be made
by then."

Bagwell missed 115 games in 2005 after the surgery to repair the
shoulder that's bothered him since 2001. In the four previous
seasons, Bagwell hit 136 home runs and had 417 RBI -- numbers
Axelrod said should earn Bagwell one more season.

"No one is saying Jeff has functioned in those years like he did in
his MVP year [1994] or the years around that, but it hasn't been
half-bad," Axelrod said. "If he is irritated about anything, it
because he feels that, 'I've battled through pain and discomfort
before and I always get through spring and get stronger.' All of a
sudden, someone is saying, 'Well, sorry, we've decided you're not
able to perform."'

Purpura said the Astros will chart Bagwell's progress leading up to
spring training and left open the possibility of Bagwell returning.

"We've got some time here," Purpura said. "We all feel bad. It's a
difficult situation for everybody."

Axelrod said Bagwell could probably extend his career up to five
seasons if he played in the American League as a designated hitter.
But Axelrod said the possibility of a trade is remote, mainly
because if Bagwell played somewhere else, he would disprove the
Astros' contention that he's disabled.

Axelrod also said Bagwell doesn't want to play anywhere else.

"Jeff is a lifelong Houston Astro," Axelrod said. "That's something
certain players think about and Jeff's part of that ilk. That's a
badge of honor, an entire career with one organization. It means
you've exhibited loyalty."

Both sides are still mulling how the insurance policy affects
Bagwell's status with the team.

If Bagwell arrives at spring training and decides he can't play,
then the Astros are likely to recoup their money. But no one's sure
what happens if Bagwell decides he can play.

"That's one of the nebulous aspects, what can happen and can't
happen," Axelrod said. "For a team to tell a guy with a questionable
shoulder that he can't step on the field, I'm not sure how far
that's going to go. I don't know what will happen. None of us do."