ANGELS : Herzog Won’t Try to Rescind Gruber Trade

Resigned to the belief that the Toronto Blue Jays were unaware of third baseman Kelly Gruber’s shoulder injury, Angel executive Whitey Herzog said the team will not request that the trade be rescinded.

Instead, the Angels are expected to seek financial compensation from the Blue Jays.

“We don’t want to rescind the trade, we really don’t,” said Herzog, Angel vice president for player personnel. “But we want what’s fair. If we get a ballplayer who’s in the last year of his contract, and he can’t play until June, then I think some kind of compensation should be made.

“The fair way to me is that when he comes off the disabled list, then we’ll pick up his portion of the salary that we’ve agreed upon. Until that time, they should pay the full amount.”

The Blue Jays, who received Angel infielder Luis Sojo in the trade on Dec. 7, already are obligated to pay $1.7 million of Gruber’s $4-million contract. If they agree to the Angels’ request, the Blue Jays will have to pay an additional $383,333 for each month Gruber is sidelined.

Gruber underwent rotator-cuff surgery on his left shoulder last week and will be sidelined for at least eight weeks. He is scheduled to be examined Friday at the Angels’ spring training camp by Dr. Lewis Yocum. If Gruber shows a pain-free range of motion, he can begin a limited rehabilitative program, Yocum said.

“There’s really little that we can do,” Herzog said. “I talked to (Toronto General Manager) Pat Gillick, and three of their coaches, and none of them knew Gruber was hurt. I’ve known Pat Gillick since 1961, and was teammates with him at Baltimore, so I know he’s not lying.

“If (Gruber) told the trainer (during the World Series) that he hurt his shoulder but he could play--and the doctor looked at him and said, ‘fine’--I don’t know what anyone could do about that.

“I think Gruber will be back eventually, and our ballclub will better once we have him. I still think we’ll be competitive.”

*

Although the Angels have been chastised for acquiring Gruber without having him take a physical, a Blue Jay executive said Tuesday that none of the interested teams, including the Dodgers, requested that Gruber take a physical.

In fact, one high-ranking Dodger scout said that the Dodgers nearly got Gruber. The Blue Jays proposed a trade that would have sent Gruber and $1.5 million to the Dodgers for third baseman Dave Hansen. Although Dodger officials were virtually unanimous in approving the trade, the source said, team vice president Fred Claire vetoed it.

*

Herzog said the Angels came close to making another troubled trade.

When the Angels sent first baseman Lee Stevens to the Montreal Expos for Jeff Tuss, a pitcher who retired to play college football, Herzog said they almost wound up with a lame outfielder during the winter meetings.

“I tried to get an outfielder from (Montreal, Glenn Murray) that I had good reports on,” Herzog said. “We offered them Stevens, but were turned down on a Wednesday.

“(Murray) got shot in the leg on Friday. Now, suppose what would have happened if we had taken that guy?”