PHOENIX -- Travis Lee, a major leaguer since the Arizona Diamondbacks began play in 1998, was optioned to the minors Sunday in an attempt to help him regain his batting eye and get some confidence.

	Lee

A move had to be made, because the Diamondbacks called up Nelson Figueroa from Tucson to start Sunday's game against the Seattle Mariners. The demotion caught Lee, who wants to be traded, by surprise.

"I'd rather just stay in the big leagues. That's what kind of shocked me," he said.

Manager Buck Showalter told Lee about Matt Williams' early struggle to stick in the majors.

"I'm not saying that the world's full of them, but there are a lot of cases of people who benefited from this, and we hope this is another example," Showalter said. "He'll be back at some point, and I hope that he'll come back a productive player."

Showalter stressed situational hitting with the team during a three-day series against Texas. In Arizona's 6-5, 11-inning loss Saturday, Lee struck out in the eighth and failed to get a bunt down in the 10th.

But the Rangers took two of three games, and Lee's performance in the 6-5, 11-inning loss Saturday was the final straw. A late defensive replacement, Lee struck out in the eighth inning and failed to lay down a sacrifice bunt with two on and none out in the 10th. The at-bat ended when he flied out to finish 1-for-6 for the series.

Lee was hitting .232 in 72 games this year, .211 with runners in scoring position.

The Diamondbacks made headlines when they discovered a technicality that allowed them to sign the Olympic first baseman as a free agent after the Minnesota Twins drafted him No. 2 overall in June 1996.

Lee spent one year in the minors, then joined the parent team as its expansion-year first baseman.

He singled and homered off Colorado's Darryl Kile in the opener, becoming the first Diamondbacks player to have a hit, homer and RBI and the first to score a run. Lee had 22 homers and 72 RBI as a rookie, hitting .269.

But the next year Arizona brought up Erubiel Durazo, another left-handed first baseman with even more power, forcing Lee into right field, and the slide began.

"I guess if you're not consistent, you can't stay at this level," Lee said. "So I'm going down there and find my stroke -- the stroke I always had -- and just go about my business and be back here pretty soon."