Answer to Trivia Question: Barrios

Manny Barrios has one day as a Dodger and already he has a claim to fame.

“I’ve been traded for some big guys,” he said Sunday, smiling a day after he had been called up from triple-A Albuquerque.

He has.

Barrios, a slightly built right-handed pitcher who throws a 92-93-mph fastball, came to the Dodger organization from Florida as the “player to be named later” in the Mike Piazza deal.

He had been with the Marlin minor league system only a few months, having been traded from Houston with Oscar Henriquez and Mark Johnson, both right-handed pitchers, for Moises Alou and his megabucks salary.

“He’s had quite a few weeks,” said Dodger Manager Glenn Hoffman, who used Barrios as a setup man, spot starter and general pitching handyman at Albuquerque and politicked with interim General Manager Tom Lasorda for Barrios’ elevation to the Dodgers.

Hoffman said he would use Barrios as a middle reliever, because “he’s the kind of guy who can give us innings and pitch to both sides of the plate.”

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Dodger pitchers report that their playing relationship with catcher Charles Johnson is improving with every game, and Johnson acknowledged becoming more comfortable with the staff in the six weeks since coming to the club from the Marlins.

Ismael Valdes shook off Johnson only twice in pitching a one-hitter Saturday night, “and that’s just part of the game,” he said.

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Lasorda said Sunday that no more conversations have been conducted with Cincinnati about closer Jeff Shaw, and that in the one talk with the Reds about Shaw--whom Cincinnati is trying to unload in a cost-saving measure--Paul Konerko was never mentioned, as was reported in some quarters.

“He has a chance to be a great one,” Lasorda said of Konerko.

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Bobby Bonilla, on the disabled list because of an intestinal infection that required a biopsy, took batting and infield practice early Sunday and will make the Dodgers’ trip to Texas. He is eligible to come off the disabled list on Thursday, at which time he could be used as a designated hitter in the last game of the series in the American League park in Arlington, Texas.

Which position he plays Friday, when the Dodgers see San Francisco for the first time, is still to be determined, as is the fate of third baseman Adrian Beltre, who on Sunday started his fifth game in a row since being called up from double-A San Antonio, and that of Konerko, who started his 11th in a row, when Bonilla returned to the field in either position.

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Tim Wallach begins as manager at Class-A San Bernardino today, completing the overhaul of the Dodger system in which minor league managers became major league coaches, major league coaches became unemployed and minor league managerial openings were filled. Joining Wallach as minor league managers are Ron Roenicke, replacing Hoffman at triple-A Albuquerque, and Lance Parrish, replacing Roenicke at double-A San Antonio. . . . Eric Young and Eric Karros extended hitting streaks, Young to 12 games with a single in the fifth inning, Karros to 11 games with a single in the fourth. . . . Shortstop Jose Vizcaino on the disabled list since June 22 because of a sprained right ankle, will undergo an MRI today after the ankle swelled again. X-rays proved negative.