Padres snare Ordonez to be option at short

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Friday, January 16, 2004 11:02 PM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- The Padres still think top prospect Khalil Greene has what it takes to be their everyday shortstop this season. Of course, it never hurts to cover all your bases.

To that end, the Padres capped a busy week of wheeling and dealing Friday by agreeing with veteran shortstop Rey Ordonez on a minor-league contract and inviting him to spring training. Ordonez, 33, a free agent who played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last season, will compete with Greene and fellow holdover Ramon Vazquez during the spring.

Only two of them will make the team's final roster.

"This year, we're not in a developmental stage," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. "We're going to depart with our best 25 players. And if (Greene) is one of our best 25 players, he'll make the team. But we had to protect ourselves in case he wasn't ready.

"But I think he is ready."

Greene, the Padres' first-round pick in 2002, rocketed up their farm chain to earn a September call-up to the big club, He batted .215 with three errors in 20 games.

Towers doesn't want the 24-year-old to languish on the bench, so Greene either will start or will begin the season at Triple-A Portland. If he starts, the backup will likely be Vazquez because he offers the Padres more versatility with his ability also to play second or third base. If Greene heads back to the minors, however, Ordonez should get his opportunity.

"I see his best chance of making the club as the everyday shortstop," Towers said of Ordonez.

The Padres beat out several teams for the services of Ordonez, who will take a major pay cut from the $6.25 million he made in 2003 as the final season of a four-year, $19 million contract signed with the New York Mets. Should he stick with the Padres, Ordonez would earn $650,000, with a chance at $125,000 more in performance bonuses.

"I'm excited to have him," Towers said. "He was on our radar screen early, but we didn't think we'd be able to match up financially."

Despite hitting .316 in 34 games with the Devil Rays last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury, the 5-foot-9, 159-pound Ordonez is no great shakes with the bat, as his .248 career average attests. But he has forged a deserved reputation as a wizard in the field. He won three consecutive Gold Gloves with the Mets from 1997-99 and owns six National League fielding records. Since 1996, no one in the NL has a higher fielding percentage than Ordonez's .976.

"I've always loved to watch him play defense," Towers said. "He's one of those guys you almost expect to make a highlight-reel play every game."

The agreement with Ordonez completes a week in which the Padres nearly traded for Pirates catcher Jason Kendall, signed free-agent center fielder Jay Payton, and avoided arbitration with pitcher Adam Eaton. Towers said the only other offseason move he might make is signing a pitcher to a minor-league contract.

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at bhiro@nctimes.com.