The question was about infielder/outfielder Wilkin Castillo, a kid who fools around with a catcher's glove.

Could he be the team's No. 3 catcher?

"That's a possibility," Baker said. "If you are going to have a third catcher you'd like him to be versatile and be able to play a lot of positions.

"It all depends on how it pencils out. Right-left, what we need on the bench. The pieces of the puzzle depend on what you have and what your needs are and how you place them.

"You try to get away from having too many weaknesses and you try to get away from having too many left-handed hitters or right-handed hitters."

The key piece: Gonzalez

Baker said the team's makeup depends upon the health and well-being of shortstop Alex Gonzalez, absent from games this week.

"A lot of it depends on him," Baker said. "He's doing good and we might DH him a game or two next week. He is one guy who benefits from the extra week we're down here this year. That extra week is big for him."

Tracing O'Neill

Larry Hermes, the Reds' assistant media relations director can rattle this one off without gasping for breath: Trace the Paul O'Neill trade in 1992 to the player currently on the Reds.

O'Neill was traded for outfielder Roberto Kelly. Kelly was traded for outfielder Deion Sanders, who was exchanged for pitcher Dave Burba.

Burba was traded for first baseman Sean Casey. Casey was dealt for pitcher Dave Willliams. And Williams was traded for pitcher Robert Manuel.

Manuel, 25, currently is on the 40-man roster after going 5-3 with a 1.40 ERA in 47 relief appearances at Class AA Chattanooga last year.

Quote of the day

"We played five innings Tuesday (intrasquad) and nine innings Wednesday with just one error. Playing good defense this early is a good sign." - Baker