EXPANSION DRAFT PRESENT : As the Day Turns, Teams Search for Tomorrow

There are enough plots and subplots in today’s National League expansion draft, which will span seven hours on ESPN, to attract any devotee of the daytime soaps.

Among them:

--Former Angel pitching coach Marcel Lachemann might persuade the Florida Marlins, his new employers, to take a $10.75-million gamble on Angel relief pitcher Bryan Harvey. The Angels could also lose either or both of their offensive catalysts, Luis Polonia and Junior Felix, although as vice president Whitey Herzog said Monday:

“We scored only 500 or so bleeping runs with Felix and Polonia. The way I look at it, we should be able to score that many no matter how we patch it.”

--With more than 2,000 players to choose from, including two winners of the most valuable player award, two winners of the Cy Young Award and four rookies of the year, the Marlins and Colorado Rockies will take inexpensive potential with their No. 1 picks. The Rockies, picking first, will choose pitcher David Nied of the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins will select outfielder Nigel Wilson of the Toronto Blue Jays.

--Both clubs, while building with a budget, may select one or more high-salaried veterans, and both may select players to be included in prearranged trades, announced when the draft is over.

Dave Dombrowski, Florida’s general manager, said Monday he has agreed to four such trades, if he can draft the players.

One of those trades may hinge on the Marlins drafting St. Louis Cardinals’ relief pitcher Lee Smith, who would then be traded to the Dodgers. Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, said Monday night he has talked to the Marlins only in terms of concepts and, “There is nothing definite.”

The plots thicken:

ANGELS AND DODGERS

“Everything in baseball revolves around money,” Herzog said. “You sit in meetings now and the only issue is how much this player makes or how much that player makes? Is he a free agent? Can he go to arbitration? Instead of talking about winning, it’s all about money.”

Harvey, who led the American League with 46 saves in 1991, is guaranteed $10.75 million over the next three seasons. He had elbow surgery in August, and the Angels suspect he won’t be 100% until midseason--if then.

The Marlins, who don’t figure to have many save opportunities, clearly understand the risks but, influenced by Lachemann, have dwelled on Harvey’s availability “as much as or more than any other player,” a club source said.

Herzog said Polonia, who led the club in steals and batting average while making $1.65 million, would have been protected if signed, or if there had been progress in contract talks; but that financial considerations intruded on his and Manager Buck Rodgers’ desire not to lose their leadoff man.

It is not certain they will. National League clubs can protect three players after both the first and second rounds. American League clubs can protect four.

The Angels expect to lose one or more of their young pitchers, with left-hander Mark Holzemer and right-handers Paul Swingle, Julian Vasquez and Scott Lewis among the most vulnerable.

Claire said he was having “a tough time defining” who the club might lose in the first round. He said that by protecting seven pitchers, the Dodgers were acknowledging that “as usual, pitching is at a premium throughout the game.”

Among the unprotected Dodgers are infielders Lenny Harris, Mike Sharperson, Dave Hansen, Eric Young and Roberto Mejia; outfielder Henry Rodriguez and pitchers Kip Gross, Rudy Seanez, Javier Delahoya, Mike James, Albert Bustillos and Zack Shanall.

NO. 1

Nied, who will be 24 on Dec. 22, is already at an undisclosed location in Denver, awaiting today’s announcement. He was 14-9 at triple-A Richmond last year and 3-0 in six late-season appearances for the Braves.

In testimony to the organization’s pitching depth, the Braves figured they could expose Nied and protect Deion Sanders and Brian Hunter.

The Marlins are convinced that Wilson, 22, can make the jump from the double-A Southern League, where he hit .274 with 26 home runs and 69 runs batted in.

QUICK FIX

Neither the Rockies nor Marlins will go the high-salary route, although Dombrowski said Monday he would be surprised if the Marlins didn’t take on a major contract or two.

However, Nigel Wilson over Danny Tartabull and David Nied over Jack Morris is probably going to be the pattern.

The Rockies provided another example Monday, signing former St. Louis Cardinal free agent Andres Galarraga to a one-year contract for an estimated $1.7 million.

Don Baylor, the Colorado manager and Galarraga’s hitting coach in St. Louis, predicted that Galarraga might go from 10 home runs in Busch Stadium to 20 to 27 in mile-high Denver.

Neither the Rockies nor Marlins have their heads in the clouds, however. No expansion team has ever won more than 70 games, and Dombrowski said, “We couldn’t win the division even if they let us draft every available player.”