The Dragons also lost third baseman Brandon Waring, their top power hitter, whose X-rays from last week were re-read to reveal a hairline fracture in his left thumb. Waring suffered the injury in Fort Wayne a week ago while trying to make a tag while playing first base.

Waring did play in one game after the injury, but the thumb continued to bother him.

Waring will be put on the disabled list today. He'll be replaced on the roster by 19-year-old Neftali Soto, who is hitting .388 for the rookie-league team in Billings, Mont.

• Soto, from Puerto Rico, was drafted as a supplemental third-round pick by the Reds last summer and hit .303 with two homers and 28 RBIs as a shortstop for the Gulf Coast League Reds. In 15 games so far at Billings, he has hit four homers with 11 RBIs, postinga .423 on-base percentage and .746 slugging percentage.

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