01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Pete Rose backs punishment of baseball players caught using steroids under the major league's new testing policy.

"In my case, I broke the rules and I've been suspended 18 years," said Rose, who agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball following an investigation of his gambling. "So if guys broke the rules the last two years, then they have to be handed out some kind of sentence."

Rose, baseball's career hits leader, spoke at a benefit at Moeller (Ohio) High School on Monday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

One of the topics was Barry Bonds, the subject of a recently released book that details the San Francisco Giants slugger's alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

"I don't know what he did the last two years. All I know is the guy can hit," said Rose, calling Bonds one of the top-five players in baseball history.

Rose, who confessed to betting on the Cincinnati Reds while managing the team in the late 1980s, said he only cares about steroid use since baseball's testing began.

"Here's my take on steroids: We can say anybody took steroids," Rose said. "We don't know. Unless you took steroids the last two years, I don't care."

ROUNDUP

CUBS-MARLINS TRADE: Right-hander Todd Wellemeyer was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Florida Marlins yesterday for minor-league pitchers Lincoln Holdzkom and Zach McCormack. Wellemeyer, 27, was taken by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2000 amateur draft. He has pitched in 57 major-league games with Chicago over three seasons, mainly in relief, with a 5-3 record and a 6.19 E.R.A. He is 32-29 with a 4.15 E.R.A. in 106 minor-league games. Wellemeyer was 2-1 with a 6.12 E.R.A. in three stints with the Cubs last season.

GM WANTS GAMES: If Brian Sabean had his way, Barry Bonds would play every day for the San Francisco Giants this season. The general manager knows that's not realistic, so he will take whatever he can get. "By what I see, do I think he's capable of playing a lot? Yes," Sabean said yesterday, a day before the Giants were to break spring training. "Only God and he knows how much he's going to play, and the manager." Bonds will have missed the Giants' final five Cactus League games in Arizona after being scratched Saturday with an inflamed left elbow.

MINOR-LEAGUE PACT: Relief pitcher Felix Heredia, released by the Arizona Diamondbacks last Friday, signed a minor-league contact yesterday with the Cleveland Indians. Heredia, 30, is 28-19 with six saves and a 4.42 E.R.A. in 511 appearances. He allowed six runs in five innings with Arizona this spring training. He pitched only three games with the New York Mets last season before surgery to remove a blood clot in his shoulder. On Oct. 18, Heredia was suspended for the first 10 days of the 2006 season after testing positive for steroids.

GRISSOM RETIRES: Marquis Grissom, a non-roster invitee to spring training with the Chicago Cubs, announced his retirement yesterday after a 17-year major-league career. Grissom, 38, signed a minor-league contract in January and had hoped to make the team as a backup outfielder. But he batted just .200 in 17 spring training games.

PHILS DEAL LOPEZ: The Philadelphia Phillies traded pitcher Aquilino Lopez to the San Diego Padres for minor-league outfielder Matt Thayer and third baseman Trey Johnston yesterday. The Phillies had sent Lopez to their minor-league camp Monday. He went 1-0 with a 5.79 E.R.A. in nine exhibition game appearances. Thayer played hit .337 in 63 combined games with Class-A Lake Elsinore, Class-A Fort Wayne and the rookie league Arizona Padres. Johnson hit .302 over 20 games with the Arizona League Padres.

ON THE DL: Mark Prior and Kerry Wood were placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday, meaning the Chicago Cubs will start the season without both star right-handers. Neither move came as a surprise, as both have been rehabbing from injuries. The moves were retroactive to March 27.

DOWNS DOWN: Toronto starter Scott Downs left the game against Detroit yesterday when his right knee felt irritated while he warmed up for the third inning. "It was the tendon area under his knee," manager John Gibbons said. "Hopefully it's not serious."

KIM INJURED: At Tucson, Ariz., Colorado pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim strained his right hamstring running the bases. Kim, who pitched four games for South Korea in the World Baseball Classic, pitched two innings yesterday, then batted in the seventh and walked. Cory Sullivan doubled and Kim appeared to get hurt when he rounded third. He limped home and was tagged out. Zach Day, Josh Fogg and Sun-Woo Kim are among the candidates to replace Kim.

PROGNOSIS BETTER: Seattle Mariners center fielder Jeremy Reed has a sprained right wrist and not a broken wrist, as the team originally thought. Reed rejoined the team yesterday, a day after he was examined in Seattle. He resumed throwing, running and every baseball activity except swinging a bat. Reed said he was "relieved, and excited. It's still tender and sore, but I'm certainly happy it's not broken." Reed ran into the padded center-field fence at Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday night in pursuit of a fly ball during an exhibition game.