Angels Get Pirates’ Ray for 2 Players

The Angel youth movement was dealt another setback Saturday when the club acquired 30-year-old second baseman Johnny Ray from the Pittsburgh Pirates and optioned the man he will replace, rookie Mark McLemore, to the minor leagues.

In exchange for Ray, a .286 career hitter who is batting .273 with 5 home runs and 54 runs batted in this season, the Angels sent minor league infielder Bill Merrifield and another player to be named to the Pirates.

The player to be named will reportedly come from the Angels’ expanded September roster and will be announced no later than Oct. 15, giving the Angels the opportunity to use him down the stretch.

Ray became the fifth player 30 or older to join the Angels since May. In June, the Angels acquired pitchers Greg Minton (36) and Jerry Reuss (38), and in July they signed hitters Tony Armas (34) and Bill Buckner (37). After a month with Edmonton, Armas was added to the team’s 24-man roster Aug. 18.

“Johnny Ray has been, is and will be a first-class player,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said. “He’s an All-Star caliber second baseman, right in the middle of his prime.”

In his six seasons with Pittsburgh, Ray batted better than .300 twice. In 1984, he hit .312, tying him for fifth in batting in the National League, and last year, he hit .301, seventh-best in the league.

Ray led the NL in doubles in both 1983 and 1984 (38 each season) and drove in a career-high 78 runs in 1986. He has had at least 163 hits in each of his full seasons with the Pirates.

To make room on the roster for Ray, the Angels optioned McLemore to their Class A team in Palm Springs, although McLemore isn’t going anywhere. Palm Springs ends its season today, and major league rosters can be expanded to 40 players Tuesday, so McLemore will accompany the Angels to Toronto and be reactivated there.

The move, however, renders McLemore ineligible for the playoffs. All teams must announce their postseason rosters by Monday.

McLemore, 25, was the Angels’ starting second baseman since opening day. He batted .263 during April but only .225 the rest of the way. Overall, McLemore was hitting .230 with 3 home runs, 36 RBIs and 25 stolen bases, second on the team to Devon White’s 26 steals.

“I don’t think this transaction is as much a reflection on Mark McLemore as it is a reflection on our offensive production,” Angel General Manager Mike Port said. “McLemore’s a man who’s played baseball for 22 months straight (including winter ball). Maybe we are to the point that he is just going nose-down a little.

“We still hold Mark McLemore in high regard.”

The Angels rank last in the major leagues in hitting with a .250 average, which has prompted Port in the last month to replace Mark Ryal, Gary Pettis and now McLemore--all 29 or younger--with Buckner, Armas and Ray.

“Plan A, as I envisioned it, was Pettis and McLemore batting at the bottom of the lineup, and Brian Downing driving in 110 runs by batting at the top of the order,” Mauch said. “We didn’t get people on base for that to happen.”

Of McLemore, Mauch said: “I was thrilled to death the way he started, but I imagine he hasn’t hit too good since the first month of the season. But I don’t want to put him down to justify the trade. You’re talking about a hell of a player in Ray.”

Ray, who is signed through 1988, draws an annual salary of $657,000, which made him the second-highest-paid Pirate to pitcher Rick Reuschel this season. Within the past two weeks, Pittsburgh General Manager Syd Thrift has unloaded both salaries, trading Reuschel earlier to the San Francisco Giants.

Recently, the Pirates have been playing 23-year-old rookie Jose Lind ahead of Ray at second base, another sign that Ray was expendable.

“You couldn’t expect a Johnny Ray to play a supporting role, and he would have this year,” Thrift said.

Ray told Pittsburgh reporters he was glad to be leaving a last-place team.

“Winning is important,” he said. “You want to win. The bottom line is to win the World Series.

“It was fun here; the Pirates gave me a chance to play in the big leagues. But things have changed here.”

Merrifield, 25, batted .285 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs for Edmonton in 1987 but was not regarded among the top prospects in the Angel farm system. Merrifield primarily plays first base and third base, which placed him behind Wally Joyner and Jack Howell on the club’s depth chart.

As for the player to be named, the Pirates are believed to be interested in a young outfielder, which would make Pettis, Ryal and Darrell Miller candidates.

Ray is expected to join the Angels in Baltimore in time for today’s game. Mauch said he plans to use Ray immediately in the starting lineup.