Lachemann: Arias Likely to Start

George Arias apparently will be the Angels’ starting third baseman.

Manager Marcel Lachemann said he is leaning heavily toward starting the 24-year-old rookie over veteran Tim Wallach.

“I’m still kind of in shock,” said Arias, who had 30 home runs and 104 runs batted in at double-A Midland last season.

Arias went three for three in Monday’s 8-7 exhibition loss to the Colorado Rockies, improving his spring-training average to .436. Wallach is batting .421, but defense has given Arias the edge.

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Phil Leftwich was optioned to triple-A Vancouver and Jason Grimsley was reassigned to minor league camp, meaning Scott Sanderson has locked up the No. 5 spot in the pitching rotation.

But Sanderson may not start for the Angels until mid-April. Lachemann is considering a four-man rotation of Chuck Finley, Mark Langston, Jim Abbott and Shawn Boskie in the early going.

In other moves Monday, pitchers Steve Ontiveros and Bryan Harvey were put on the 15-day disabled list because of elbow injuries, reliever Todd Frohwirth was reassigned to minor league camp, and first baseman Ricky Jordan was sold to the Seattle Mariners.

Third baseman Eduardo Perez, who has not played this spring because of a shoulder injury, was assigned to minor league camp but remains on the major league roster because injured players cannot be sent down.

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Boskie’s string of 9 1/3 innings without allowing a hit ended when he gave up a solo home run to Andres Galarraga in the first inning. Galarraga later added a three-run homer as Boskie allowed five earned runs and seven hits in six innings. . . . Closer Lee Smith allowed two runs on three hits in the ninth.

Shortstop Gary DiSarcina returned to Massachusetts to be with his 1 1/2-year-old daughter, Carlee, who was having a kidney removed at Children’s Hospital of Boston. Tom Tanzer, DiSarcina’s agent, said the operation was preventive and that Carlee, who was born with defective kidneys, is expected to lead a normal life.