The Associated Press

BOSTON – Dmitri Young suspected that a trade was coming.

Wednesday, December 12, 2001

BOSTON – Dmitri Young suspected that a trade was coming. That doesn’t mean he was looking forward to it, though.

”At the end of the year, after our last game, everybody was packing up and we just said goodbye to each other, that hopefully we’ll all play together again next year,” the Cincinnati outfielder said Tuesday after he was traded to the Tigers. ”But we knew that was not going to be the case.”

Young was sent to Detroit for outfielder Juan Encarnacion and reliever Luis Pineda in a deal that was announced at baseball’s winter meetings. Young became the first player traded away as the Reds try to keep their payroll near the $45 million they spent last year, when they lost 96 games – a franchise-record 54 of them at home.

”It’s frustrating when you go out there and play so hard and you watch games get so lost,” said Young, who made $3.5 million last year and was one of 11 Reds eligible for arbitration. ”It takes a toll on you. It seems like everybody is against us.”

Encarnacion made $440,000 last season and is eligible for arbitration, but Pineda is not. The 23-year-old righty made the jump from Single-A last year and went 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 16 games for the Tigers.

Young hit .300 or higher in each of his last four seasons with the Reds, batting .302 with 21 homers and 69 RBIs in 2001.

”It’s very rare that you get a chance to acquire a .300 hitter, much less one that’s done it for four years in a row,” Tigers general manager Randy Smith said.

The Tigers feared that Encarnacion, who hit .242 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs last season, was taking a step backward from the year before, when he batted .289 with 14 homers and 72 RBIs. Despite the raw talent that could make him a star, he didn’t take instruction well and his fielding was spotty.

”Juan Encarnacion did not take the next step,” manager Phil Garner said. ”He’s a good player who somewhere down the line is going to put up some good numbers. But we feel like what we got in this deal is going to help us a great deal.”

Young also impressed the Tigers in a three-game series at in Detroit last year, hitting .636 with a homer and three RBIs.

”We feel Dmitri will provide a much-needed bat that’s tailor-made for our ballpark,” Smith said. ”He’s posted excellent numbers in interleague games versus AL Central teams and will help our offense immediately while giving Phil versatility defensively.”

Young played four different positions last year for Cincinnati. The Tigers will use Young and Robert Fick in right field or at first base and bat him in the middle of the lineup.

Young is acquainted with Fick, but doesn’t know much about the Tigers. He hopes to avoid being a designated hitter.

”That’s not my cup of tea,” Young said. ”I heard I’m going to be doing a lot of things, actually.”

Young was primarily a left fielder, but moved to third base while Aaron Boone recovered from three hand fractures. He also played first base and one game in right field.

The Reds now have an outfield of Ken Griffey Jr., Encarnacion and Adam Dunn, who was promoted July 20, played right field and hit 19 homers in 66 games.

”They’ve got a very athletic outfield,” Smith said.