For Openers, They’re Set : Angels: With club’s offensive and defensive needs resolved and pitching rotation set, only the bullpen remains unsettled.

Angel Manager Doug Rader finally has the set lineup he wished for last season, when injuries and defensive shortcomings forced him to devise new combinations almost daily.

The trade that brought center fielder Junior Felix and second baseman Luis Sojo from Toronto are expected to boost the Angels’ offense, and Sojo has shown more dexterity in the field than Johnny Ray ever dreamed of. The acquisition of Dave Parker gives the Angels an everyday designated hitter, and a fit Dave Winfield gives them formidable punch in the middle of the lineup.

Their offensive and defensive needs have been resolved and their pitching rotation is set, too. Chuck Finley will start tonight’s season opener against the Mariners at the Kingdome, with Kirk McCaskill, Mark Langston, Jim Abbott and rookie Scott Lewis to follow him.

However, their bullpen remains unsettled. Only Bryan Harvey, the club’s career save leader with 67, has a definite role--the closer. Rader indicated he will leave the other roles undefined, using pitchers in long, short or middle relief according to circumstances and their history against specific hitters.

In exhibition games, Rader used left-hander Scott Bailes as a closer, a job filled last season by Harvey and right-hander Mark Eichhorn with the submarine delivery. On a special diet to combat hypoglycemia, Bailes this spring regained the energy and concentration he lacked last season. He gave up one run in 13 1/3 innings to win the last bullpen spot away from Mike Fetters, who will start the season with triple-A Edmonton.

Bailes will probably be used in a setup role. “He literally pitched himself onto this ballclub and that’s difficult to do,” Rader said. “He deserves a lot of credit.”

Left-hander Floyd Bannister and right-hander Jeff Robinson, signed as free agents during the off-season, are likely to pitch mostly middle relief. Rader has said left-hander Cliff Young might not be ready to replace the injured Bob McClure, whose forte was coming in to face a batter or two in pressure situations, but Rader hasn’t ruled anything out.

“We’re going to try and match (pitchers and hitters) up as best we can,” said Rader, who lost reliable middle reliever Willie Fraser to Toronto when he gained Felix and Sojo. “As far as having a specialist along the lines of Bob McClure two years ago, we don’t have that yet. I’m sure someone will filter through.

“They all have the capability (of pitching long or short relief). It might be Ike (Eichhorn) against a specific left-handed hitter. We’re going to match the best we can based on past success and current workload.”

Of the Angels’ relievers, Harvey worked most often in spring training. He made 14 appearances and was 1-1 with one save and a 1.84 earned-run average.

“We had a close group in the bullpen last year, and I’m missing Willie myself,” Harvey said of Fraser, his longtime friend. “But Robbie (Robinson) came in and we all get along with him and Bannister.

“With three lefties and three righties, Doug can do a lot of matching. You can do that to a certain degree. I think we have a good group.”

Bannister believes the relievers’ versatility will prove useful. Bannister has been a starter for most of his career--including last season in Japan--but he’s enthusiastic about working out of the bullpen.

“We have different styles and different amounts of experience,” said Bannister, who said he was pleased with his spring despite a 6.59 ERA in nine appearances covering 13 2/3 innings.

“The big thing is picking each other up. There’ll be times the breaks don’t go your way and I know from being a starter how important it is to have a good pen that can pick the starters up.

“There are studies on how pitchers do against individual hitters and Doug knows the American League, I know the AL and Lach (pitching coach Marcel Lachemann) knows the AL. You might come in to put a rally out, or there may be situations we have to flip-flop. It can work.”

Young, who made 17 relief appearances for the Angels last season, is ready to fill any role assigned him.

“I want to do what I can and open some eyes,” he said. “I don’t really know what my job is going to be, but I don’t care. I’m just happy to be here.”

Angel Notes

Left-hander Bob McClure (torn muscle in his left shoulder) said there’s a chance he’ll be ready to pitch when he’s eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list April 18. “It’s hard to tell because I don’t know how it’s going to react to throwing two, three days in a row,” McClure said. “Right now, everything seems real encouraging. I can’t do what I did last time (in returning from left elbow tendinitis last year). I ended up rushing it and missed another two months.” . . . The Angels were 6-12 in domed stadiums last season: 1-5 at Seattle, 3-3 at the Metrodome in Minnesota and 2-4 at Toronto’s SkyDome. . . . Kevin Uhlich, the Angels’ director of stadium operations, was to meet Monday with officials in Tempe, Ariz., to continue negotiations on the club’s possible spring training move to Diablo Stadium.

ANGELS’ OPENING DAY LINEUP--1991

PLAYER: 1 Luis Polonia POSITION: LF COMMENT: Acquired from Yankees in April, he hit career-high .335 PLAYER: 2 Luis Sojo POSITION: 2B COMMENT: Split 1990 between Toronto and triple-A Syracuse PLAYER: 3 Wally Joyner POSITION: 1B COMMENT: Hit .268 in season shortened by fractured kneecap PLAYER: 4 Dave Winfield POSITION: RF COMMENT: Went from Yankee reserve to AL Comeback Player of Year PLAYER: 5 Dave Parker POSITION: DH COMMENT: As a Brewer, was voted AL’s top DH for second consecutive year PLAYER: 6 Lance Parrish POSITION: CCOMMENT: Had best offensive season since 1985 with 24 home runs PLAYER: 7 Gary Gaetti POSITION: 3B COMMENT: Led Twins in RBIs (85), but slumped to .229 PLAYER: 8 Junior Felix POSITION: CF COMMENT: Hit .263 for Blue Jays in first full major league season PLAYER: 9 Dick Schofield POSITION: SS COMMENT: Hamstring pull sidelined him until June 6; hit .255 in 99 games PLAYER: Chuck Finley POSITION: PCOMMENT: Had career-best 18-9 record and 2.40 ERA, but struggled in spring ANGELS’ OPENING DAY LINEUP--A YEAR AGO

PLAYER: 1 Devon White POSITION: CF COMMENT: Traded to Toronto after disappointing .217 season PLAYER: 2 Johnny Ray POSITION: 2B COMMENT: Released, currently playing in Japan PLAYER: 3 Wally Joyner POSITION: 1B COMMENT: Won off-season salary arbitration and had good spring PLAYER: 4 Chili Davis POSITION: DH COMMENT: Signed with Minnesota as a new-look free agent PLAYER: 5 Dante Bichette POSITION: LF COMMENT: Traded to Milwaukee for Dave Parker PLAYER: 6 Claudell Washington POSITION: RF COMMENT: Traded to Yankees in Luis Polonia deal PLAYER: 7 Lance Parrish POSITION: CCOMMENT: After injury-plagued ’89 season, thrived in 1990 PLAYER: 8 Rick Schu POSITION: 3B COMMENT: Waived last week during final days of spring training PLAYER: 9 Mark McLemore POSITION: 2B COMMENT: Traded to Cleveland to complete Ron Tingley deal PLAYER: Bert Blyleven POSITION: PCOMMENT: Slow recovery from shoulder surgery put him on disabled list