Rays' Canseco Misses Drills

Spring training is here, and the big bat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays want in the middle of their lineup is missing.

Jose Canseco, who has a history of reporting late, was a no-show Tuesday when the team held its first full-squad workout. Adding to the club's consternation was the fact that no one had heard from the slugger.

"Yeah, it's irritating a little bit because he's such a big cog of the wheel," general manager Chuck LaMar said. "Jose's going to show up when Jose's ready. And I guess that's what bothers me the most. If it was injury or visa problems or personal problems or irritation over a contract or a trade that just materialized, then that's one thing. But just to premeditatively not show up for a couple of days -- if that's the case -- is a different story."

While Tuesday was the voluntary reporting date, players aren't required to be in camp until March 2.

"The biggest need we had was right-handed power," LaMar said. "We went out and got a right-handed power hitter, and we're thrilled to have him. He's going to have a heck of a year. But I wish he was here today."

Canseco, who had 46 homers and 107 RBI for the Toronto Blue Jays last season, signed with the Devil Rays as a free agent this winter. Tampa Bay finished near the bottom of the American League in most major offensive categories in 1998 and is counting on Canseco to make a difference.

LaMar and manager Larry Rothschild were hoping Canseco, who talked about how much he wanted to play for Tampa Bay when he signed a one-year contract that guarantees him $3 million, would be eager to get started.

A .266 hitter with 397 homers in 13 major league seasns, Canseco frequently has arrived late for camp during a career that's included stints with the Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.

"We don't want to make too big of an issue of it ... A lot of major league camps go through this. But very candidly, it's the first time we've gone through it," LaMar said.

There were 74 other players in camp, and that's what Rothschild preferred to focus on. Besides Canseco, the only player missing was injured infielder Herbert Perry.

"There are so many positive things going on that I'd rather concentrate on," the manager said. "Jose will catch up when he gets here ... I don't anticipate that it's going to be a major problem."

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