December 4, 2004
Tavarez to Start in D.R.
By Brian Walton
Cardinals right-handed pitcher Julian Tavarez has come to terms and is preparing to join Hector Luna on the Aguilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Republic League. In fact, Tavarez has some name-brand company. Starters Claudio Vargas of Washington and free-agent Jose Lima will join the team this week. Lima came via a trade with the Escogido Lions for outfielder Raul Mondesi.
Scheduled to join the Aguilas along with Tavarez during the third week in December are starters Bartolo Colon of Anaheim and Miguel Batista of Toronto. Batista also was part of a trade, coming from the Lions in return for catcher Miguel Olivo. With that, the first place Aguilas will have a rotation that most major league managers would envy.
That rotation includes Tavarez, who is being billed as a starter. That role is not foreign to him. In the majors, Tavarez has started 79 games, including 27 for the Florida Marlins in 2002. However, there is no indication that his role as the right-handed set-up man in St. Louis will change in 2005.
The rich get richer as shortstop Miguel Tejada of Baltimore and free-agent third baseman Tony Batista will hop on board the Aguilas train for the final week of the regular season in anticipation of the playoffs and the Caribbean Series in January.
With Tejada in the lineup, Luna’s playing time should shrivel up. In 45 at-bats, Luna is hitting .244 with a .320 on-base percentage. He has ten strikeouts and eleven hits, a single RBI and one stolen base.
Not that the Aguilas are in need of all this firepower, at least in their home country. After all, they enjoy a 23-10 record, a full five games ahead of the Cibao Giants and six games up on perennial powerhouse and defending champion Licey Tigers.
