Cromer Makes Powerful Bid for a Spot

He is 6 feet 2 and weighs 166 pounds. Nobody ever confused him with Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa. That’s understandable.

Nobody has ever guaranteed him a roster spot in the spring. That’s not so understandable.

Tripp Cromer got three hits Thursday, including his team-leading sixth home run, in the Dodgers’ 8-5 victory over the Houston Astros at Osceola Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla.

Cromer, sometimes known as “Homer Cromer,” now trails only McGwire and Sosa among National League home run hitters in the spring.

But more important, he’s a versatile infielder who can play second, short and third, and hit .291 for the Dodgers with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 28 games before a torn elbow ligament cut short his 1997 season. Cromer spent much of 1998 recuperating, but he’s healed now and hoping to stick with the club as a reserve infielder.

“I feel surprisingly good,” he said. “I haven’t had any problems with the elbow.”

The Dodgers’ problem with Cromer is that he is out of options. So if they send him to the minors, they have to expose him to waivers.

How would Cromer, 31, like to come to camp some spring and know that he had a job?

“I don’t know what that is like,” he said. “I don’t think that would be any fun.”

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Will catcher Todd Hundley make his long-awaited Dodger debut behind the plate today, testing his reconstructed elbow against the Baltimore Orioles at Holman Stadium?

Today has been the target date, but Manager Davey Johnson isn’t about to flash any signals of his own.

“I’ll decide [today] and you’ll know when you show up at the ballpark,” Johnson told reporters. “I’m not doing anything in advance so that, if he doesn’t play, you can say it’s a setback.”

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There is no chance right-hander Hideo Nomo will be making a comeback in Dodger blue, according to General Manager Kevin Malone. Nomo, traded to the Mets last season, was sent to that team’s triple-A team in Norfolk, Va., Wednesday. If Nomo refuses the assignment, he will be a free agent. “He doesn’t fit into our plans,” Malone said.

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Right fielder Raul Mondesi hit two home runs in as many at-bats to drive in three runs against the Astros. . . . Darren Dreifort pitched five innings, his longest outing of the spring. But he continued to experience control problems, walking four and throwing a wild pitch. . . . Pedro Borbon strengthened his bid for a bullpen spot by pitching two hitless innings.