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Vladimir Guerrero’s game rounding into shape for Angels

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The Angels fired international scouting director Clay Daniel upon receiving information from baseball’s investigative arm that connected him with improprieties in the signing of prospects in Venezuela, a source familiar with the probe said Friday.

The source was granted anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

The investigators appear focused on Daniel.

The Angels’ media guide lists 17 minor leaguers from Venezuela, variously signed by scouts Amador Arias, Leo Perez, Carlos Porte, Denny Suarez and Cesar Velasquez.

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Arias left the organization several years ago, but the other four scouts remain employed by the Angels, club spokesman Tim Mead said Friday.

Baseball’s investigative unit, born out of Sen. George Mitchell’s report on the steroid era, has interviewed representatives of nearly every team amid allegations that some scouts kept a share of bonus money intended for Latin American prospects and others signed players whose ages were falsified.

Daniel said Friday he had met with major league investigators but said neither he nor the scouts working for him had done anything wrong.

He said he did not know what allegations might have been relayed from the investigators to the Angels.

“I have no earthly idea,” he said.

Could he say that he and his scouts had neither skimmed bonus money nor participated in age falsification?

“Yes, sir,” he said.

The long-running investigation has been linked to the firing of Chicago White Sox player personnel director Dave Wilder last year and the resignation of Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden this spring.

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Off and running

Vladimir Guerrero appeared light years younger on the bases on Thursday. He stole second base. He raced from first base to third.

That off-season knee surgery might be paying unexpected dividends, as well as his 35-game rest because of a torn pectoral muscle.

Guerrero ran regularly in his younger days, with the Montreal Expos, stealing 37 bases in 2001 and 40 in 2002.

But now he is 34, and he laughed at the thought of stealing 10 bases this season.

“No,” he said with a smile.

He stole five bases last year. How many bases does Guerrero believe he might steal this year?

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe three or four.”

Shields update

Reliever Scot Shields says he has not thrown in the 10 days since the Angels put him on the disabled list, making it unlikely the team would activate him when eligible next Wednesday.

Since the discomfort in his left knee became increasingly intolerable as he tried to pitch through tendinitis, doctors have recommended Shields rest the knee and minimize the inflammation before he resumes throwing.

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“It’s just not going away right now,” he said.

Shields lives about 25 minutes from Detroit’s Comerica Park, so he invited teammates to his home Thursday night to watch the NBA and NHL finals.

“It was fun, except both teams I was rooting for lost,” Shields said.

Shields doesn’t necessarily hate the Lakers. He grew up in Florida, home to the Orlando Magic.

Roster move

The Angels returned reliever Rafael Rodriguez to triple-A Salt Lake to clear roster space for Kelvim Escobar, who will be activated from the disabled list today.

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com

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