O's Are Shifting J. Lopez to DH

Longtime Catcher Has Had Difficulty Adjusting to First Base

FORT MYERS, Fla., March 29 -- The experiment in which Javy Lopez shed his catcher's gear in favor of a first baseman's mitt will be put on hold by the Baltimore Orioles, who now will insist that their former catcher become a designated hitter, a move he does not seem eager to accept. It has financial implications for the player, who is in the final year of his contract.

Orioles Manager Sam Perlozzo informed Lopez of the decision on Wednesday before the team traveled here for a game against the Minnesota Twins. Lopez, acting as the designated hitter, was hitless in four at-bats, which dropped his average to .125. Lopez is hitless in his past 13 at-bats this spring.

"I think what we're going to do is DH him early now and let him continue to work on his first base and catching," Perlozzo said. "We need to take a little pressure off with his defense now and get him straightened out and get his bat going. We really need his bat. We're going to let him DH and work on his hitting and continue to let him work on his first base. As we go into the season we'll start using him at the right time. The better he gets the more he plays."

Lopez, who repeatedly has said he does not want to be a designated hitter, declined to speak to reporters.

"Not today," he said. "Too many interviews this week. I just want to concentrate."

On Sunday, Lopez said the strain of trying to learn first base had led to problems at the plate. In nine starts at first this spring, Lopez committed four errors and looked out of place. On Tuesday, he misplayed his fourth pickoff play of the spring. Perhaps never before has Lopez appeared so listless at the plate, either.

"It had been on my mind simply because I could see what's been going on with him," Perlozzo said. "With him trying to do so good at first it was obviously affecting his offense and his offense started affecting his defense. It was a counterproductive situation to this point. First couple weeks of spring I didn't foresee that. But he's better than he's playing, trust me. He's got himself now where he's in a snowball going in the opposite direction. We want to stop that right now. We want to get these things shored up."

Some in the organization believe Lopez's reluctance to be a designated hitter is related to his being in the final year of his three-year, $22.5 million contract. The theory is that Lopez, 35, would command more on the free agent market as a catcher or first baseman than as a designated hitter.

Chuck Berry, Lopez's agent, said that they will not ask for a trade. When the Orioles signed catcher Ramon Hernandez, Berry had requested a trade on behalf of Lopez, who had been unhappy about being displaced at catcher. The demand later was rescinded.

Lopez has said publicly that being a designated hitter does not make him feel part of the game. Over his career, Lopez has hit just .224 (49 for 224) with seven home runs and 25 RBI as a designated hitter.

"The way I look at those things is that the people who say they can't DH are the ones who do it once a month," Perlozzo said. "If they don't get a hit that night they think they can't DH. They don't say I can't catch because I was 0 for 3."

Perlozzo said hitting coach Terry Crowley will work with Lopez during games in which he is the designated hitter to keep him busy.

The Orioles insist the move is not necessarily permanent.

"I view it more as a temporary setback," Orioles Vice President Jim Duquette said.

But it seems unlikely that Lopez would become an adequate first baseman if he's not playing the position regularly. Privately, some in the organization hope Lopez just accepts the move permanently for the benefit of the team.

"The important thing," Duquette said, "is we have to get him comfortable and swinging the bat."