Jury’s out on whether anyone will sign Bonds

The Oakland Athletics could use a big bat, and the San Francisco Bay Area is the only place in America where Barry Bonds is not roundly booed. So, when the A’s put together a long list of players worth exploring this winter, they put Bonds’ name on the list.

“I can’t say there was great interest,” A’s owner Lew Wolff said.

That slim chance might have been Bonds’ best chance to secure a contract next season. By indicting him on felony charges of perjury and obstruction of justice Thursday, the federal government might have ended Bonds’ illustrious yet controversial career.

No longer would the central questions for a potential employer revolve around how a 43-year-old slugger with an often surly disposition would function outside San Francisco, where the Giants essentially let him dictate his playing and practice schedules.

Now, in addition to figuring out how to sell fans on the signing of a player facing charges of lying under oath about steroid use, any interested team would have to determine how much time Bonds would need to devote to defending himself in court.

“We’ll wait and see what happens,” Wolff said. “An indictment doesn’t mean you’re guilty, but he’ll probably be immersed in a lot of things in the future.”

Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said she would expect a trial to start in “late spring or early summer” and last several weeks. If Bonds is found guilty, or agrees to a plea bargain, he could be sentenced to prison.

It is conceivable that Bonds’ attorneys could file pretrial motions that delay the start of the trial until after the season, she said, but Bonds might also need to attend some court hearings and meet with his lawyers to review evidence as the trial approaches.

“It’s very distracting,” she said. “It’s not just the courtroom time.”

She said Bonds could be required to surrender his passport as a condition of bail, which could present a challenge to playing in Toronto should an American League club sign him -- even more so if that club is the A’s, who open the season with two games in Japan against Boston. And, with the court case in San Francisco, he could find it difficult to attend to legal matters by day and play in games by night if he did not sign with a California team.

On that score, the A’s appear to be his only hope. The Giants told him in September they would not offer him a new contract. The Angels and Dodgers had no interest, even before the indictment, and Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti would not discuss where he thought Bonds might play.

“I don’t have any thoughts at all,” Colletti said.

The San Diego Padres briefly considered signing Bonds last winter -- backing off after realizing Bonds would have eclipsed closer Trevor Hoffman and Cy Young winner Jake Peavy as the face of the franchise -- but ruled him out immediately this winter.

“We never even considered it,” General Manager Kevin Towers said, “even before the news [of the indictment] came out.”

Towers said he could envision another club taking a chance on Bonds.

“There’s no doubt Barry is a tremendous talent. It’s a very weak free-agent market,” he said. “It depends if a club is willing to take that on, knowing it won’t be an easy road. Some people may be willing to take that risk.”

Once Alex Rodriguez signs his new contract, no free agent will have hit more home runs last season than Bonds. He hit 28, with a .276 batting average, and led the National League in OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) at 1.045.

He broke Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record in August and hit his last home run -- No. 762 -- Sept. 5 at Colorado against rookie Ubaldo Jimenez.

Whether he gets the chance to hit another one could depend on his court schedule. The Giants inserted language in Bonds’ contract last season that they said would allow them to void the deal in case of indictment.

As the court case unfolds, any team interested in signing Bonds could consider how to negotiate provisions about his availability before and during a trial and escape clauses in case of a plea bargain or guilty verdict. Commissioner Bud Selig had considered suspending Bonds upon indictment and could do so if he signed a contract, although the players’ union could persuade an arbitrator to overturn a suspension in the absence of a conviction or plea.

“There’s too much uncertainty at this stage to begin any discussions,” former Dodgers general manager Fred Claire said. “I don’t know how you would structure something.”

Bonds has said he wants to play one more year, for a final opportunity at winning a World Series championship ring and for the 65 hits he needs for 3,000. Claire said that could work against him, because a team that might take a chance on signing him could not ensure he plays for them once the criminal case is resolved.

“We’re talking about a player at the end of his career,” Claire said. “We’re not talking about a player who is 32 or 33 years old who may have many seasons left.”

Bonds generated little interest as a free agent last winter, even without the indictment and with the likelihood that he would break Aaron’s record. Jeff Borris, his agent, took the extraordinary step of flying Bonds to the winter meetings for face-to-face discussions with potential suitors.

Any such discussions this winter would go well beyond rumors of steroid use, which Bonds has repeatedly dismissed by denying he ever knowingly used the performance-enhancing drugs and saying he never had tested positive for them. In the indictment, the government alleges it can show Bonds lied in his denials before a grand jury and can prove he has tested positive.

Borris did not return calls Thursday or Friday. He did return a call Wednesday, the day before the indictment, but would not discuss how many teams, if any, had expressed interest in Bonds. Borris did say Bonds would not go job hunting again at the winter meetings. “If Barry comes to the winter meetings this year, it will be for a press conference to announce his signing,” Borris said.

The winter meetings are Dec. 3-6 in Nashville. Bonds is scheduled to make his first court appearance Dec. 7 in San Francisco.

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com