Felipe

Lopez

''In the past, he’s stolen some bases,’' Miley said. ''But last year, coming off the ankle (injury, we didn’t push it). We’re going to up the ante this year.’' It sounds like Lopez has the edge in the competition for the starting job at shortstop. He’ll compete with Rich Aurilia.

Manager Bob Boone says he’ll probably still use Larkin as the leadoff man, with Lopez behind him. Boone likes the way Lopez can bunt, handle the bat, and run. Lopez has a little speed, and is worth adding in leagues where he’s still available.

Maybe he should have waited another day, as he went 0-for-4 and made two errors in place of Barry Larkin at shortstop.

Lopez suffered a dislocated ankle last July and missed the rest of the season. “We all know that it was a very serious injury,” GM Dan O’Brien said. “He wasn’t expected to be ready until late in spring training. But all reports are he’s ahead of schedule. He should be ready for the start or very near the start of spring.” Unless Lopez has a great spring, he’ll probably open the year at Triple-A Louisville. Still, since the Reds infield is full of question marks, he shouldn’t be forgotten about.

Even with Barry Larkin on the DL, Lopez is losing time to Juan Castro and Ranier Olmedo. Lopez was not in the starting lineup Thursday but spent several minutes chatting with Reds manager Bob Boone. Once Larkin is healthy, the Reds will have several options, including shifting Aaron Boone to shortstop and using Russell Branyan at third base. Lopez should be avoided until he proves himself worth starting.

We think the Reds would be better off if Barry Larkin goes ahead with his retirement plans and Lopez gets a look at shortstop.

“He is above average on the agility drills, and it won’t be long before he’ll be the best,” trainer Mark Mann said. “He is an amazing athlete, and I’m surprised after the type of injury he had that he is doing what he is doing.” Lopez is probably going to begin the season as an everyday player in the minors, but he could be an option at either third or shortstop for the Reds later on.

“Honestly, Lopie is playing pretty good,” manager Dave Miley said. “Barry realizes that.” Lopez had his career-high 10-game hitting streak snapped yesterday, but he did have a walk with a run scored. He hit .371 with three home runs and seven RBI during his streak. After making an error and going hitless yesterday, maybe he’ll yield to Larkin today, but Miley said that Lopez, 23, will continue to see plenty of at-bats the year of the way.

Could Lopez finally be living up to his promise? If so, the Reds may be able to look at him as the regular shortstop next season.

Ryan Freel is also slumping, so Reds interim manager Jerry Narron may try something new at the top of the lineup. We may start seeing more of Rich Aurilia.