Washburn Still Doesn’t Like How It Ended

PEORIA, Ariz. —  Jarrod Washburn stood in the Seattle Mariners’ clubhouse, still not entirely sure how he got there. On Monday, for the first time in his career, the Angels were in one clubhouse and he was in the other.

He filed for free agency last fall, but he wanted to stay in Anaheim. The Angels did not offer him a contract, or an explanation.

“That would have made it a lot easier to deal with,” he said before the Angels’ 6-3 exhibition victory. “I may never know.”

Washburn, the Game 1 starter in the lone World Series in club history and a mainstay in the Angel rotation from 2000 to 2005, said he heard from Manager Mike Scioscia over the winter, but not from General Manager Bill Stoneman.

“It would have been nice to get a call from Bill to say thanks for everything and we’re going in a different direction, and why,” Washburn said. “That didn’t happen.”

Washburn said he approached Stoneman several times last season and expressed his desire to negotiate a contract extension.

“Every time I said something, he just laughed,” Washburn said. “He would chuckle his little chuckle, and that would be the end of it.”

Said Stoneman: “I knew he wanted to talk to us about a long-term extension. We weren’t interested.”

When an associate of agent Scott Boras called last winter to assess the Angels’ interest in Washburn, Stoneman said he had none.

“We knew he was looking for something longer term and more money than we had an interest in,” Stoneman said.

Washburn, 31, signed a four-year, $38-million contract with the Mariners. He said his only other offer came from the Washington Nationals, for four years and comparable money.

He said the Angels never asked what he was looking for and said he might have “potentially” signed with them for a shorter term and/or less money. Stoneman said he never received a proposal.

The Angels later signed Jeff Weaver, 29, another Boras client, for one year and $8.3 million. Stoneman said he did not believe Washburn would have agreed to a similar deal.

“Judging by what he got, not likely,” Stoneman said.

Washburn ranked fourth in the American League with a 3.20 earned-run average last season, and in Seattle he’ll play in one of the better pitchers’ parks in the league. He said he is “not really bitter, just disappointed” by the Angels’ lack of interest.

“I had a great time,” he said. “I’ve got some great memories and great friends over there. It’s a drastic change, but I’ll get through it. So will they. They’ll be fine without me.”

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Garret Anderson has not played in one week, and the Angels are growing concerned about the lingering soreness in his left heel.

“I don’t want to say there’s a sense of urgency, but we need to get this thing healthy in a reasonable amount of time,” Scioscia said. “We’re confident it will be.”

Anderson, the left fielder and No. 3 or No. 4 hitter, has six at-bats this spring. The Angels open the season in 20 days, and Scioscia said Anderson would need seven to 10 days to get ready. Trainers initially estimated Anderson would return within a few days, Scioscia said, but the recovery has been “a little stagnant.” The Angels hope he can return this week.