Werth lunches with Reggie Jackson, denies recruiting talk

CLEARWATER, Fla. - All the rumblings over Bright House Field weren't from the thunderstorms that washed out the Phillies' scheduled exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The New York Post reported over the weekend that Yankees Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and Phillies rightfielder Jayson Werth had an hourlong lunch at the Tampa Hyatt last Friday afternoon and then another on-field conversation before that night's exhibition game at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The strong implication was that Jackson was doing some early recruiting since Werth can be a free agent at the end of the season.

Jackson was a Yankees teammate of Werth's stepfather, Dennis, from 1979 through 1981. And Werth's mother, Kim, is the sister of Dick Schofield, who played with Reggie on the Angels from 1983 to '86.

According to the paper, the Yankees denied that Jackson was representing the team in any way and general manager Brian Cashman said he was unaware that a meeting had taken place.

From the day he arrived in camp this spring, Werth has consistently maintained that his only concern is helping the Phillies win in 2010.

"Reggie's an old family friend," Werth said after yesterday's game was canceled. "I've known him since I was 7 years old, I think. I've known him forever. There's nothing to tell, really. Two friends having lunch."

While there are rules against tampering, this would seem to fall into a gray area, even if Jackson had just happened to mention the benefits of playing for the Yankees during the conversation.

"What we talked about is our business. But, honestly, it was just two friends having lunch," Werth said.

The Phillies made three cuts yesterday, optioning outfielder John Mayberry Jr. and reassigning infielder Ozzie Chavez and catcher Dane Sardinha to the minor league camp.

None of the moves was unexpected, although Mayberry was having a solid spring and showed promise when he was called up last season.

"Since I first saw John last year, he's improved a whole lot," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We figure he needs to go out and play and, at the same time, he's got to hit righthanded pitchers better. He hits lefthanders real good. He's got some things to learn about his hitting.

"It's just like I told Jayson Werth. He's got a chance to be real good. John's going to play in the big leagues and he's going to play for a while."

Mayberry batted .243 against lefties (9-37) in the majors and .296 (24-81) at Triple A Lehigh Valley last season. Against righthanders he hit .150 (3-20) for the Phillies and .243 for the IronPigs.

There are now 31 players left in camp. Two of them, Brad Lidge (knee, elbow) and J.C. Romero (elbow), will open the season on the disabled list.

Leftfielder Raul Ibanez, who was not in the lineup yesterday, is expected to start today against the Braves at Bright House Field. Ibanez had an ice pack on his elbow after being hit by a pitch in Friday's game . . . J.A. Happ is scheduled to pitch against Atlanta's Kris Medlen . . . Joe Blanton, whose start against the Pirates was washed out, will pitch in a Triple A game against the Yankees today at the Carpenter Complex . . . J.C. Romero, coming off elbow surgery, will make his first game appearance in a Double A game.