Columnist Dean Juipe: Houston, Cordova in limbo

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4084.

They're home, conscious of the passing days and, presumably, increasingly antsy.

Major League Baseball teams open spring training Feb. 13 and a pair of players from Las Vegas are looking for work. In each case, a call will come and a deal will be struck.

But the agony of the ritual leads to restless nights and a repetitive refrain.

"Maybe I'll hear something Monday," Tyler Houston said, all but echoing a remark offered by the agent who handles contractual matters for Marty Cordova.

"In the next day or so," said Sam Levinson, talking about Cordova's prospects and getting his signature on a big-league contract.

Of course he said the same thing last month.

Houston has been in the majors since 1996 and Cordova was the American League's rookie of the year in 1995. They're both big, strong men who have a few years left in the sport.

But, for the first time, they spent this off-season unemployed. Houston was dropped by the Cleveland Indians in December and Cordova was not offered a contract by the Minnesota Twins when his contract expired in October.

"Things are kind of up in the air," Houston said. "I feel like I have some options to pick and choose, but it's a case of supply and demand."

A catcher/third baseman, what Houston can supply is a left-handed bat and occasional power. As for demand, it's telling that Houston no longer has playing time as the top priority in his contractual situation.

"It's kind of irrelevant," he said. "It used to be important for me, but now I'll go where they want me."

Houston, who turned 29 Jan. 7, has been pigeonholed as a reserve, a pinch hitter, maybe even a DH if he stays in the American League. Previously with Atlanta and the Chicago Cubs, he started hot last season but went into a slump and was dealt to the Indians Aug. 31. He finished the season at .225 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs.

Those numbers mirror his typical year.

"Obviously, Cleveland is probably going to have a better team (than where he'll be playing this season), but it's come down to a business decision," Houston said. "I didn't fit anymore with the Indians."

That's also how the Twins felt about Cordova.

Injury-prone and a defensive liability, Cordova is a line-driving hitting outfielder who can still swing the bat although he may never match the numbers he put up his first two seasons. In 1995 he hit .277 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs, then came back with a .309-16-111 season. Last season he finished .285-14-70 and at 30 years old he and his agent are attempting to convince a big-league club that he's an inexpensive risk.

He'll take less money and try to demonstrate that he can do more than "put on a good batting-practice show," as the yearly periodical Benson's A to Z Baseball says of him in its new edition.

Levinson, in his New York office, says a deal with an unspecified team is close. Based on his comments last month, it's overdue.

So Cordova, and Houston, wait. Like the romantically challenged who list their positive traits in a magazine ad for the lovelorn, they're confident the phone will someday ring with good news.

Maybe it will today.

archive