3 with Hawaii ties
make opening day

Agbayani, Fetters and Truby will
open for their respective teams

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By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.com

Six Hawaii players went to spring training as members of their organization's 40-man major league roster.

Benny Agbayani, Mike Fetters and Chris Truby survived and were on the opening-day rosters of the Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos.

Agbayani, traded to Colorado by the New York Mets in the offseason, hit .333 (16-for-48) in 21 spring training games and is one of five outfielders on the Rockies' roster.

Fetters appeared in seven spring games, had a 2.57 earned run average in seven innings, allowed four hits, walked one, struck out four and gave up two earned runs.

The Expos traded with Houston for Truby when it became clear Fernando Tatis was not ready to handle the third base duties. Truby hit .254 with three doubles and three home runs this spring.

Two players, catcher Dane Sardinha and right-handed reliever Tyler Yates, were optioned to the minor leagues, while left-hander Onan Masaoka was released by the Chicago White Sox on March 12.

Masaoka, who went to the White Sox in a trading deadline move by the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer, was ineffective in spring training. In three appearances, he surrendered 11 hits, walked four and gave up 12 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Masaoka has returned to the Big Island and has decided to take the year off.

Sardinha was sent to Chattanooga, the Cincinnati Reds' Class AA team in the Southern League. Yates, acquired by the Mets in the off-season, will begin the year in the Class AAA International League at Norfolk, Va.

Justin Wayne, Jay Spurgeon and Brandon Villafuerte went to big league camp as spring training invitees.

Spurgeon, who has recovered from surgery late last summer on his non-throwing (left) shoulder, pitched one inning for Baltimore before being sent to Rochester, the Orioles' Triple A team in the International League.

Justin Wayne, a right-hander, will start the season at Harrisburg (Pa.), Montreal's Class AA farm team in the Eastern League. He pitched two innings for the Expos, giving up one hit, a home run.

Villafuerte, who signed as a free agent with the Padres in the offseason, had an ERA over 6.00 when he was optioned to Portland in the Pacific Coast League.