Rodriguez misses first-day workout

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Angels’ opening act of spring went off without their closer.

Francisco Rodriguez, at odds with the team over his 2008 contract, was a no-show for the first workout for pitchers and catchers Friday, but his agent assured the team its star reliever has not begun a holdout.

“He had a personal problem come up in Venezuela, and he is due in [today],” Paul Kinzer said. The agent added that he had left a message for Angels General Manager Tony Reagins earlier this week.

Kinzer and the Angels exchanged salary figures in January. Rodriguez asked for $12.5 million and the team countered with $10 million, the second-largest gap among arbitration filings.

Both Kinzer and Reagins said there have been no negotiations aimed at bridging the gap, so the case will go to arbitration Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Those hearings could be contentious -- Kinzer will argue Rodriguez, who made $7 million last season, is worth $12.5 million; the Angels will argue the right-hander is worth $10 million -- and could lead to animosity.

Players are 0-4 in arbitration hearings this winter.

“Is that a possibility? Yeah,” Reagins said when asked if the process might lead to bitter feelings between Rodriguez, who can become a free agent after this season, and the team. “When you go to arbitration, you go to win. But it’s not personal at all. It’s a business, and we both understand the business aspect of it.”

The pressure of a walk year can also be a distraction, but Manager Mike Scioscia thinks Rodriguez can handle it.

“A closer has to deal with a lot of things -- he’s always walking that tight wire between achieving or not achieving -- and he’s handled every situation extremely well,” Scioscia said.

“Mentally, he’s always had the ability to focus on the moment. Naturally, going into the last year of a contract, there’s some uncertainty, but I don’t anticipate that being an issue.”

Rodriguez, who is expected to practice Sunday, threw 17 innings in the Venezuelan winter league, going 0-1 with a 2.65 earned-run average in 16 games with six saves, 21 strikeouts and three walks.

“He’s going to be ready,” Scioscia said.

Not only will Kelvim Escobar (sore shoulder) open the season on the disabled list, the right-hander probably will miss all of April.

Scioscia said Escobar will begin a throwing program “in the second or third week of March.” It takes pitchers three to four weeks to build up enough strength to throw in a game. Add two weeks for minor league rehabilitation starts, and early May looks to be the earliest Escobar will return.

The Angels, perhaps feeling burned by pitchers who tried to dictate rehabilitation schedules -- Bartolo Colon comes to mind -- told Escobar before camp he would open the season on the DL.

“In the back of a player’s mind, especially now, when you start to feel better doing your exercises, that start of the season has a way to push you, and frequently it pushes you off the cliff,” Scioscia said. “I’ve seen a lot of guys trying to get ready for opening day, and it sets them back two to three months.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com