FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A visit to a hand specialist yesterday provided Delino DeShields with the news he had wanted. Finally, the Orioles' new second baseman caught a good break.

DeShields learned that he won't need surgery to repair a fractured bone in his left thumb. No pins, no prolonged layoff. Just patience.

DeShields arrived at Fort Lauderdale Stadium around 10 a.m. wearing a cast that extended to his forearm. He has been told the cast can be removed in about a week and replaced with a splint, but it will be three to four weeks before he can start rehabbing and another two to three before he can return to the lineup.

"They say three to four weeks before I can start banging on it, but hopefully it will be sooner," said DeShields, 30, who signed a three-year, $12.5 million deal over the winter. "I've been through so much stuff. It's just the timing. I was looking forward to getting off to a good start. But hopefully I won't miss too many games."

The injury occurred in the third inning of Thursday's intrasquad game when DeShields snared a line drive from minor-league outfielder Luis Matos. The ball seemed to handcuff DeShields, who made the catch in the palm of his glove for the final out. He batted in the bottom of the inning, poking a single into left field, then was taken for X-rays.

"I didn't think it was broken. I just thought it was a really bad bruise," DeShields said.

DeShields will be limited to running and bonding with his new teammates during the Orioles' 25 exhibition games. Manager Ray Miller has estimated that DeShields will miss the opening homestand April 5-11.

"As long as it heals all right, it won't take me long to get in the swing of things, so to speak. I've just got to make sure it's healed," DeShields said.

Garcia dazzles with 'D'

While Jeff Reboulet is the front-runner to replace DeShields in the Opening Day lineup, Miller will use the remaining time here to further evaluate young infielders like Jesse Garcia, Jerry Hairston and Carlos Casimiro.

Garcia, 25, divided his time last year at Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Rochester, hitting a combined .287 with 19 doubles, five triples and 20 stolen bases. Known more for his slick fielding, Garcia is expected to begin this season at Rochester, along with Hairston.

Garcia's already gotten noticed by Miller, who continues to rave about the double plays he has turned this week. The latest gem came yesterday and trumped an error later in the game.

"The double play he turned, you won't find any quicker or better than that," Miller said. "He's a very, very good second baseman who also can play short."

Garcia, chosen in the 26th round of the 1993 draft, also contributed a bunt single in the A team's 5-2 loss to the B team.

"If somebody goes down, you've just got to be ready because you never know when it can be your opportunity. And if it does come, you've got to take advantage of it," he said.

Garcia almost didn't pursue a professional career. He began boxing at age 8, compiling a 53-2 amateur record and winning several Golden Gloves titles, and didn't stop until receiving a baseball scholarship to Lee Junior College in Texas. A lightweight in 1992, he lost in the finals of a tournament that would have put him in the Olympic trials and altered the course of his life.

"The guy who beat me ended up fighting [Oscar] De La Hoya in the trials," said Garcia, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, who's listed at 5 feet 10 and 155 pounds. "I've thought about if I had won there, maybe I would have changed to boxing. I did both sports through Little League and high school. After boxing practice, my mom would drive me over to baseball practice. It got kind of hectic there for a while."

Now, Garcia is fighting for something else -- a chance to stay with the Orioles.

Kamieniecki takes step

Scott Kamieniecki's numbers weren't impressive in his two innings yesterday, but those aren't the results that count.

Kamieniecki, returning from disk fusion surgery and penciled in as the fourth starter, said he felt good while throwing all his pitches for strikes. He allowed two runs and four hits to the B team.

"There were no problems," he said after facing live hitting for the first time since August. "It's one step at a time and this was another step. Everything I've done so far has gone according to plan."

Miller left the dugout to greet Kamieniecki as he walked off the mound.

"He was 0-2 on everybody. Last year, he was 2-0. I guess that was from not being able to feel his fingers," Miller said.

"That's why I came out and shook his hand. I said, 'Congratulations. It's been seven months.' "

Starters Sidney Ponson and Rocky Coppinger each threw two scoreless innings. Doug Linton retired all six batters he faced.

Elder injured

Outfielder Rick Elder, last year's first-round pick out of Sprayberry (Ga.) High, injured his right ankle in the eighth inning and was taken for X-rays. A club official said results probably won't be available until today.

Davis hangs around

Many of the Orioles' young players who were here for early minor-league camp left Fort Lauderdale yesterday for the complex in Sarasota, Fla. But not Tommy Davis, who has been told to remain with the club.

Davis, a corner infielder until being switched to catcher last spring, homered yesterday after falling behind and fouling off numerous pitches, and was 4-for-8 with three runs scored in three intrasquad games. He's also looked comfortable behind the plate and at first base, from where he threw out a runner trying to score Thursday.

"He's a real good talent that everyone wants to look at," Miller said.

Pub Date: 3/06/99