Unknown commodity

By Eric Pfahler
Posted at 05:00 PM on March 16, 2006

Rick Ankiel's shot at making the opening day roster took a hit on Wednesday. One media report suggested that Ankiel might not be able to play in any Grapefruit League games. That's not good, especially since the club has already decided against keeping Chris Duncan at the major league level. Duncan was having a decent spring, but will spend some more time working on his play in the outfield. Ankiel, meanwhile, hasn't taken an at-bat in the Grapefruit League. The injury itself is not any worse than first reported. A second-degree strain is essentially a tear. That said, it has not healed as quickly as some would have hoped, and it will take two-to-four weeks to heal. Ankiel, meanwhile, has been in the dark -- or at least that's what he's saying. On Wednesday, he reportedly said that he was continuing his workouts.

This seems eerily similar to what the Cincinnati Reds did with outfielder Wily Mo Pena. Pena needed more at-bats, but the Reds had to keep him on the 25-man roster in 2004 or else risk losing him. Pena then had a hamstring injury, and the Reds kept him in Triple-A for as long as he was allowed during a "rehabilitation assignment". That might happen here with Ankiel, who probably needs a few more swings before coming to the majors.

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