BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : DiSarcina Likely to Get Lucrative Deal

The Angels, continuing their attempts to avoid future arbitration, have offered shortstop Gary DiSarcina a three-year contract worth nearly $2.5 million.

DiSarcina, projected to be the club’s most experienced position player despite his relatively brief 2 1/2 years of major league service, is expected to agree to the deal by Thursday. He earned $265,000 last season, and was being offered about $350,000 this season until the Angels made their three-year proposal.

“To me, it’s a sign of confidence they have in me,” DiSarcina said Tuesday at Tempe, Ariz. “I think in part I earned it by having two solid years, but they certainly don’t have to do this.”

DiSarcina, who batted .238 with 45 runs batted in last season, played in 211 consecutive games before suffering a broken thumb when he was hit by a pitch by Baltimore’s Ben McDonald on Aug. 26.

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Although Angel Manager Buck Rodgers maintains that he has no stopper in the bullpen, Mike Butcher respectfully begs to differ.

“I worked (hard) to get this job,” said Butcher, a reliever who signed a one-year contract Tuesday, “and I’m taking it. I’m telling everybody I’m going to be the closer. . . . I don’t want to sound cocky but I want to erase all doubt.”