Angels Play Options Game With Finley

Agent Scott Boras did his best to keep the Angels in the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes, extolling the virtues of the free-agent center fielder during a five-hour lunch meeting with Angel owner Arte Moreno on Thursday.

But Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman had his sights set not on one player, but on two and possibly three, and that’s why 39-year-old Steve Finley was standing at a lectern in the Anaheim Marriott on Friday afternoon, being introduced as the Angels’ new center fielder.

Finley agreed to terms on a two-year, $14-million contract with a third-year option that could push the deal to $20 million, a contract with an average sticker price of $7 million for two years -- less than half of what Beltran is expected to command per year in a six- or seven-year deal.

That will leave the Angels, who hope to keep their payroll in the $100-million range or below in 2005, an additional $13 million or so to shop with this winter, resources that probably will be allocated to a starting pitcher and possibly a shortstop. Had they acquired Beltran, they would have had about $5 million left to spend.

“Beltran is a great player, but the reality of it is, we have other holes to fill, and the resources weren’t going to be there if we signed him,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Bill saw this as a chance to get some starting pitching. We needed more than just a center fielder.”

The decision to sign Finley, who helped key the Dodgers’ National League West title run after July’s trade from Arizona, leaves Stoneman looking like a quarterback in Oklahoma’s old wishbone offense: He has options.

The Angels are expected to rekindle trade talks with the Diamondbacks for ace Randy Johnson, whose agent, Alan Nero, reiterated the 6-foot-10 left-hander’s desire for a trade, despite Arizona’s signings of pitcher Russ Ortiz and Troy Glaus this week.

The Angels will pursue a deal for Oakland right-hander Tim Hudson, and A’s General Manager Billy Beane said he would not hesitate sending Hudson to a division rival.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Beane said. “We need to take care of our franchise. What if we get two elite players back? Then we’re one-up on them. None of that has ever bothered me. That’s old-school thinking, in my opinion.”

The Angels will meet with the agent for pitcher Matt Clement today and are considered one of the front-runners for the Chicago Cub right-hander, whose escalating price tag may have knocked Cleveland and Toronto out of the running.

The Angels have shown some interest in right-hander Derek Lowe. They’ve also expressed interest in free-agent shortstop Edgar Renteria, who has not yet re-signed with St. Louis, but the Angels’ primary focus is starting pitching.

“It may be one player, it may be more than one player -- we’ll have to see how it works out,” Stoneman said. “You never want to be handcuffed. You always want flexibility.”

The Angels hoped to woo Carl Pavano, considered the top pitcher on the free-agent market, but Anaheim seems to have fallen off Pavano’s radar.

Stoneman had not called Scott Shapiro, Pavano’s agent, as of Friday night to arrange a meeting, and the Angels have not tendered an offer to Pavano, who has four-year offers in the $40-million range from the New York Yankees, Boston, Seattle and Baltimore and a five-year offer from Detroit.

“I know they have my phone number, but right now I’m only dealing with the teams that have made contract offers,” Shapiro said. “And some of those offers are substantial.”

The Diamondbacks are seeking a front-line pitcher, a front-line position player and prospects for Johnson, the dominant 41-year-old left-hander, demands the Angels couldn’t satisfy at last July’s trade deadline.

But the Yankees, who have discussed three-way trades involving the White Sox and Diamondbacks, have had just as much trouble prying Johnson away from Arizona. The Diamondbacks believe their $78-million commitment to Glaus and Ortiz will convince Johnson he should stay in Arizona.

Don’t get your hopes up, Nero said Friday.

“Randy has a very positive outlook about the Diamondbacks,” Nero said. “It’s just that he’s determined that he needs to be elsewhere.”

There is no question where Finley wanted to be in 2005-06. The 16-year veteran, who hit .271 with 36 homers and 94 runs batted in last season, turned down more guaranteed money from San Francisco, which offered three years and $17 million, to sign with the Angels, who will pay Finley $6 million in 2005 and $7 million in 2006.

The Angels hold a $7-million option for 2007 with a $1-million buyout, but if Finley reaches 600 plate appearances in 2006, it would become a mutual option.

“Neither choice was wrong, but this is closer to home, I like the weather here much better than San Francisco, and there’s a good group of guys here,” said Finley, who lives in Del Mar.

The deal didn’t begin to crystallize until Tuesday night when, just minutes after the Dodgers declined to offer salary arbitration to Finley, Angel bench coach Joe Maddon called Finley’s agent, Tom Tanzer, a longtime friend, and said the Angels were very interested in Finley.

Stoneman had discussed the parameters of a deal for Finley before then but came back with a firm offer Wednesday. Finley took a night to sleep on the offer and spoke to Angel veterans Tim Salmon and Darin Erstad on Thursday before finalizing his decision.

“This is an elite organization,” said Finley, who will team with Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson to give the Angels one of baseball’s most formidable outfields. “The owner wants to win, and he knows how to put a product on the field that will entice the fans to watch it.... I wanted to go to a team that has a chance to win the World Series. I believe I’ve accomplished that.”

Finley will turn 40 in March, but the 6-foot-2, 194-pounder, who has averaged 27 homers and 87 RBIs over the past six years, is in peak physical condition and hopes to play another four years.

“Satchel Paige said it best -- how old would you feel if you didn’t know how old you were?” Finley said. “I have a lot left in the tank. I have no intention of stopping any time soon.”

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Angels in the Outfield

The addition of center fielder Steve Finley gives the Angels a potent outfield. A look at what Finley, Garret Anderson and American League MVP Vladimir Guerrero did last season and how they compare with starting outfielders for the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees:

*--* GMS AVG AB RUNS HITS HR RBI ANGELS GARRET ANDERSON, LF 112 301 442 57 133 14 75 STEVE FINLEY, CF* 162 271 628 92 170 36 94 VLADIMIR GUERRERO, RF 156 337 612 124 206 39 126 RED SOX MANNY RAMIREZ, LF 152 308 568 108 175 43 130 JOHNNY DAMON, CF 150 304 621 123 189 20 94 TROT NIXON, RF 48 315 149 24 47 6 23 YANKEES HIDEKI MATSUI, LF 162 298 584 109 174 31 108 BERNIE WILLIAMS, CF 148 262 561 105 147 22 70 GARY SHEFFIELD, RF 154 290 573 117 166 36 121

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* National League statistics