Pete Rose, the player-manager of the Cincinnati...

Pete Rose, the player-manager of the Cincinnati Reds, responding to comments by General Manager Bill Bergesch that Rose should remove himself from the team’s protected player roster, said any such move would be premature.

“I can understand Bill’s feelings,” Rose said at Tampa, Fla., where he is overseeing Reds’ prospects participating in the instructional league. “I just don’t understand the timing.”

Bergesch, attending the World Series in Boston, had said he wanted Rose to remove himself so that a young prospect could be placed on the protected roster.