Somehow, Angels Get Quarterback in Stevens Trade

The Angels have a history of trading for players who can’t play, pitchers who can’t pitch, prospects who never develop and veterans who are finished.

Now, they have managed to wind up with a 23-year-old freshman quarterback .

The Angels discovered Wednesday that Jeff Tuss--the minor league reliever they acquired last week from the Montreal Expos for first baseman Lee Stevens--won’t be reporting to spring training this year, if ever.

Tuss said Wednesday night he would play football for Fresno State and had signed a letter of intent. He plans to begin classes this spring, has four years of eligibility remaining and hopes to replace starting quarterback Trent Dilfer when he leaves for the NFL.

“I guess you can say Fresno State hasn’t been the most popular school down there (in Southern California) lately,” said Steve Caruso, Tuss’s agent.

Fresno State beat USC in the Freedom Bowl at Anaheim Stadium on Dec. 29.

“This got real serious, real quick,” Caruso said. “I’ve been trying to let the Angels know what’s going on since Friday, but couldn’t reach them.

“I don’t want anyone to look like idiots, but I’m sure there’s going to be a whole lot of finger-pointing these next few days.”

The Angels, whose emotions ranged from bewilderment to embarrassment to annoyance, still are trying to figure out what happened. They didn’t know Tuss even cared for football, let alone developed some sort of mid-life crisis at 23.

They were unable to contact Tuss last Friday to inform him of the trade because he was at Fresno State on a recruiting trip.

“The first we heard of it was (Wednesday),” said Bill Bavasi, Angel farm director, who received the call from Caruso. “Right now, we’re just trying to . . . determine who knew what at the time of the deal.

“I mean, we’ve never traded for a guy who planned on quitting. Then again, we never had a player offered to us who planned on quitting.”

What’s unclear is whether the Expos were aware of Tuss’s intentions. Caruso claims he informed Kent Qualls, Expo director of minor league operations, in December that Tuss probably would quit baseball. The Angels say the Expos failed to convey the message during trade negotiations. Expo General Manager Dan Duquette was unavailable for comment.

“There’s no sense in anyone worrying about it now,” said Whitey Herzog, Angel vice president/player personnel. “I’ll give Dan a call in the morning and get it straightened out. We’ll probably settle on another player.

“It sure is strange, though. It’s the first I heard of something like this. Why the hell would he want to play football now?

“Oh well, let him go play football. I didn’t expect him to be Walter Johnson, anyway.”

Tuss, 6 feet 4, 210 pounds, spent five years in the Expo system without advancing past the Class A Florida State League. He had been an All-America high school quarterback in Helena, Mont., and had accepted a scholarship to the University of Washington in 1988 before choosing baseball.

Times correspondent Brad Falduto contributed to this story.