Mondesi's career could be over with Braves cutting cord
WASHINGTON -- Outfielder Raul Mondesi was designated for assignment Tuesday by the Atlanta Braves, a move that could signal the end of his major-league career.
The Braves cleared roster space to activate left-hander Mike Hampton from the disabled list so he could start Tuesday night's game against the Washington Nationals.
Atlanta has 10 days to trade Mondesi, put him on waivers or send him outright to the minors, if he consents. The team doesn't expect Mondesi to agree to that.
"He loves to play the game. He might give it another shot with somebody else," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "The players loved him. He was great in the clubhouse. He just felt bad when I talked to him that he didn't help us."
The 1994 NL rookie of the year was told he had lost his starting job over the weekend, when the Braves called up outfielder Kelly Johnson from the minors and put him in the lineup. Mondesi said Saturday he's been limited by a sore right knee, which he attributed to a torn right quadriceps muscle that limited him to 34 games last season.
|
|
| Raul Mondesi's career includes 271 homers and 860 RBI with seven teams. (Getty Images) |
"We were just trying to give him every opportunity to get him some at-bats that he hadn't had in the last year or so," Cox said.
Mondesi entered this season, his 13th in the majors, with a .275 career average, 267 homers and 843 RBI. Mondesi played his first seven seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, making the NL All-Star team in 1995, and hitting at least 30 homers in three consecutive seasons from 1997-99. The Braves were his seventh club.
Mondesi didn't travel with Atlanta to Washington. His agent did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday.
Hampton went on the 15-day DL on May 21, retroactive to May 15, with a strained left forearm.
