Sheffield Activated; Pena Now in Limbo

As expected, the Dodgers on Friday activated Gary Sheffield from the disabled list and designated catcher Angel Pena for assignment to make room for the left fielder on the roster.

Sheffield, who went on the disabled list on May 28 because of a sprained left index finger, was in the lineup after experiencing no problems in batting practice.

“It felt great, just the bat’s a little slow,” Sheffield said. “It’s just getting the timing back but I had a good round of BP.”

It was the eighth time in Sheffield’s 14-year career that he had been on the disabled list, but it was his first time since joining the Dodgers in a seven-player trade with the Florida Marlins on May 15, 1998.

To kill the time spent rehabbing the finger, Sheffield had his hair braided in Allen Iverson-inspired corn rows.

“I was just bored,” he said.

Pena, meanwhile, will have at least 10 days to learn his future.

Because he is out of options, Pena must be on a team’s big league roster if claimed on waivers. If no team bites, the Dodgers will retain Pena’s rights and he will be sent to triple-A Las Vegas.

Dodger Manager Jim Tracy also said a trade is a possibility.

“We feel, as an organization, that we’ve done things in the very best interest of Angel Pena,” Tracy said. “By exposing him to 29 other clubs, as I explained to him, he’s going to find out exactly what the perception is of him out there.”

Pena, 26, batted .204 in 22 games with one home run and two runs batted in and infuriated Dodger officials with his poor work ethic.

He was, at one time, the organization’s top catching prospect as a product of Campo Las Palmas, the Dodgers’ baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.

“I think Angel Pena is a very capable player and he needs to understand that,” Tracy said. “Two things can happen.

“For selfish reasons, I hope we’re able to keep him in this organization.”

Kevin Brown’s rehab program consists of rest and wearing a neck brace to bed.

Brown, who went on the disabled list Monday because of the inflamed nerve in his neck, said he will have to rebuild lost strength in his right (throwing) arm and hand as a result of the layoff, whenever he is given clearance to do so.

“It’s impossible to predict,” a subdued Brown said. “I can’t do anything without irritating it. I have to just leave it alone and let [the nerve] calm itself down.”

Brown, who compared the feeling to getting a “stinger” in football, said perhaps the time off will allow his numerous other nagging injuries to heal.

“Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise,” he said. “It’s been such a crazy year up to this point in time.”

With Eric Karros still on the disabled list with a lower back sprain and no timetable set for his return, Tracy admitted that, in a pinch, he would use right fielder Shawn Green at first base.

Such a move would enable Tracy to use Marquis Grissom and Tom Goodwin as outfielders while keeping Dave Hansen on the bench as a left-handed pinch-hitter.

TODAY

DODGERS’ CHAN HO PARK

(7-4, 2.86 ERA)

vs.

ANGELS’ RAMON ORTIZ

(4-4, 4.27 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 1 p.m.

TV--Channel 11. Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330), KLAC (570), XPRS (1090)

Update--Park, ninth in the National League in earned-run average entering Friday’s games, is 2-1 with a 3.89 ERA in six career appearances against the Angels. Ortiz is making his first career start against the Dodgers.

Tickets--(323) 224-1448.