Harris could be with Stars again

Thursday, March 21, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The San Diego Padres may reach into their past to help bolster what is shaping up to be a veteran Las Vegas Stars pitching staff.

Greg Harris, a right-handed pitcher who was a member of the Stars' 1988 Pacific Coast League championship team and pitched for the Padres from 1988 to 1993, was given a tryout by San Diego Tuesday afternoon.

Harris, a Las Vegas resident who pitched briefly with the Minnesota Twins last season and has been plagued by injuries the past two seasons, also is expected to try out with the San Francisco Giants this afternoon.

"Harry threw for us and he looked real good," said Padres general manager Kevin Towers. "We're going to try to sign him, but I guess he is going to throw for the Giants first."

Because Harris has not been throwing regularly this spring, Towers said if the Padres signed the 33-year-old, he likely would start the season at Class A Rancho Cucamonga while pitching himself back into shape. Once he is ready, Towers indicated Harris could join the Stars.

Harris spent 4 1/2 seasons in the Padres' starting rotation before being traded with Bruce Hurst to the Colorado Rockies for pitchers Doug Bochtler and Andy Ashby and catcher Brad Ausmus in July 1993.

Harris was 9-5 with a 4.11 ERA in 26 games and struck out 147 batters in 159 2/3 innings with the Stars in 1988. Last season with Minnesota, Harris was 0-5 with an 8.82 ERA in seven games (six starts).

Spring flings

* LOOK OUT!: San Diego Padres minor-league hitting instructor Duane Espy must have thought someone was putting him on when he was told Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder would be playing four regular-season games at hitter-friendly Cashman Field. When Espy was assured it was no joke, the Padres' hitting guru shook his head and said, "Cecil Fielder could come out of that series with seven or eight home runs and be on a pace like no one has ever seen. Every ball he hits is a fly ball and if the wind is blowing out, he could hit a home run every time at bat." The Oakland Athletics will host the Toronto Blue Jays for two games April 1 and 3, and the Tigers for four games April 4-7 at Cashman Field. "If I was promoting the game, I would show a couple clips of Fielder hitting balls onto the roof at Tiger Stadium and say, 'Imagine what he could do at Cashman Field,'" Espy added. "You would sell that place out for every game."

* STATING HIS CASE: Former Las Vegas Stars outfielder Marc Newfield had been guaranteed a spot on the Padres' roster as the fourth outfielder going into the spring because he is out of options and the team couldn't send him to the minor leagues without risking losing him. But Newfield isn't taking anything for granted this spring. The 23-year-old not only is leading the Padres in hitting with a blistering .514 average (19-for-37), he is among the major-league leaders this spring. After playing in 12 of the Padres' first 20 games, Newfield had four home runs and 15 RBI and was among the National League leaders this spring in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage (1.031), on-base percentage (.528), hits and total bases (36). After he was acquired last July from the Seattle Mariners in the Andy Benes trade, Newfield hit .343 in 20 games for the Stars.

* TRADE WINDS: Another former Stars outfielder, Melvin Nieves, has suddenly become expendable with the emergence of Newfield. The Padres are shopping around Nieves, who once was considered to be the key player involved in the trade that sent Fred McGriff to the Atlanta Braves in 1993. Padres general manager Kevin Towers confirmed that several teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers, were interested in obtaining the 24-year-old Nieves. Towers said the Padres are looking to get a pitcher in return for Nieves.

* SPORTING FAMILY: Padres minor-league catcher Anthony Marnell of Las Vegas isn't the only professional athlete in his family. Marnell's uncle, George Marnell, is a professional drag racer who competes in the National Hot Rod Association's Pro Stock division and finished seventh in the points standings last season. "He's always been into cars and boats -- our whole family was," Marnell, a Bishop Gorman graduate, said of his uncle. "I picked a little safer sport."