Rocker

	Urbina

The Record of Hackensack (N.J.) reported Monday a "highly placed baseball official" claimed Atlanta and Montreal were on the verge of a deal. The newspaper said the trade would see the Expos send closer Ugueth Urbina to the Braves for Rocker.

Loria "will not confirm nor deny" any report about a possible deal for Rocker and said he did not tell any media outlet about any potential deal. The Montreal Gazette reported in Monday's editions that Loria denied his club is about to make a trade.

Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz also discounted the trade rumor. Expos GM Jim Beattie said that he won't comment on players from another team.

"That's an old story. It's not even part of our camp," Schuerholz said. "We're just concerned with how John is pitching."

The source told the newspaper the deal has been discussed all spring. The delay has been discussions about who else might be included, the paper said, adding the Expos want another pitcher, preferably starter Bruce Chen, included in a deal.

Montreal isn't the only team being mentioned in Rocker trade rumors. The Cleveland Indians have also been connected in talks with the Braves.

Rocker, who had 38 saves and a 2.49 ERA, was suspended for all of spring training and the first 28 days of the season by commissioner Bud Selig after the reliever's disparaging comments about minorities, gays and foreigners were published in Sports Illustrated. But an arbitrator allowed him to report March 2 and cut the regular-season suspension to two weeks.

Indians GM John Hart wouldn't confirm or deny a report in Monday's (Cleveland) Plain Dealer that he has discussed a trade involving Rocker and Chen for starter Jaret Wright, reliever Paul Shuey and infielders John McDonald or Jolbert Cabrera.

"This is the time for a lot of rumors," Hart said Monday. "And right now I've got two guys competing for a closer's job, so I really don't want to say anything about that. Everybody realizes the Rocker situation, which I guess you could say was a winter of turmoil."

The same could be said of the Indians' current relief pitching situation.

"It's unsettled," Hart said.

When Mike Jackson, who saved 39 games for Cleveland last year, wasn't re-signed this winter, the Indians were left without a closer. Manager Charlie Manuel's plan was to have a competition for the job between Steve Karsay and Shuey, but so far that battle has been very one-sided.

Karsay, a former starter who has never closed before in his career, has not allowed a run in 8 1/3 innings during the exhibition season.

Shuey, meanwhile, had his ERA swell to 10.80 after giving up six runs and six hits in two-thirds of an inning against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

But despite the disparity in numbers, Manuel isn't ready to pick a closer.

"I don't want either one to think I'm putting the other one ahead of him now," Manuel said. "If someone steps up fine, but right now nobody is ahead of the other."

Rocker would immediately step ahead of both Karsay and Shuey. "There's not too many guys out there with Rocker's ability," Manuel said. "He'll light you up."

Manuel said he wouldn't be too concerned about how his team might react if Rocker were to join the Indians, who like the Braves have a large nucleus of Latin players.

"I would say the majority of them would give him another chance," Manuel said. "We can give forgive the president of the U.S., we can forgive Rocker if he throws 100 (mph)."

In Jupiter, Fla., Expos players said they'd be better off without Rocker.

"I don't have anything against him," shortstop Orlando Cabrera said. "It's just that with what he did, there's been so much stuff that it would be a distraction for the team. We're a family right now and we're focused on winning. We don't need that distraction right now."

Urbina led the National League with 41 saves last year.

"I'm really excited about the start of the season," Urbina said. "With Graeme Lloyd here now, I think we're going to get better and better. Last year, we lost something like 15 games in the seventh and eighth innings. Now we have Lloyd to do that work, and it will help me a lot. We have a pretty good team and we're going to compete, so I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.