SIDELINES : Reds’ Rising Rookie Out for Season

Cincinnati Reds rookie catcher Joe Oliver, who has been impressive recently in his bid to win a spot on the 1990 roster, is lost for the season because of a fractured bone in his spine, the team says.

Oliver, 24, has a fractured lumbar vertebra in his lower back. The injury apparently occurred Tuesday night in Los Angeles when Oliver, then a baserunner, collided with Dodgers catcher Rick Dempsey in the seventh inning.

Oliver had been the Reds’ starting catcher since interim Manager Tommy Helms took over for Pete Rose after Rose’s Aug. 24 banishment from baseball for allegations of sports gambling. “We put him in that position to find out something, and he’s done the job--offensively and defensively,” Helms said of Oliver.

Oliver started 31 games, batting .280 with seven doubles, three homers and 21 runs batted in.