It’s Early, but Angels Almost Ready to Go

The Angels essentially cemented their 1997 lineup with the signing of Eddie Murray, which means Cecil Fielder won’t be playing first base for Anaheim next season.

Murray, a switch-hitter, is expected to be the club’s designated hitter on opening day, and Darin Erstad will probably land the first base job, new Manager Terry Collins said Thursday.

“Certainly, I know there was consideration on [signing] Cecil,” Collins said of the free agent who was paid a major league-high $9.2 million last season with the New York Yankees. “He’s a quality player, a big run producer. But the economy of the situation was such that it was not something we could do.”

The Angels decided to go cheaper, and that’s all right with Collins.

Turns out he’s a big fan of Murray and Erstad.

“Eddie Murray is Eddie Murray. He has the ability to drive in big runs,” Collins said. “When I talked to him the other day, he said he still feels like he’s got something left. I feel he’s what this lineup needs.”

Collins recently received videotapes of last season’s games and plans to pay close attention to Erstad. He has yet to see Erstad play in person, but has heard glowing reports.

“What we’ll try to do with Darin is get his bat in the lineup and give him a legitimate chance to win the first base job outright,” Collins said.

“When you’ve got a lot of talented young outfielders like we have, you’ve got to find spots for them. When we traded J.T. Snow [last month to San Francisco], it opened a spot for one of these guys.

“I think [Erstad] will do fine. They tell me he can play over there [at first]. Our infielders coach, Larry Bowa, is going to spend a lot of time with him.”

Collins said he’s leaning toward batting Erstad leadoff but hasn’t given the rest of the order much thought. The opening-day order could look something like this:

Erstad at first, Jim Edmonds in center field, Tim Salmon in right, Murray at designated hitter, Dave Hollins at third base, Garret Anderson in left, Jim Leyritz at catcher, Randy Velarde at second base and Gary DiSarcina at shortstop.

The bullpen, anchored by closer Troy Percival and setup man Mike James, appears to be set.

“I think we’re OK in the bullpen,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “We would like to get another possible starter. If we get a fifth guy, he has to be versatile. He has to be able to move to the bullpen.”

That would appear to rule out free agents Steve Avery or Doug Drabek, though either would be a big addition to the rotation.

“We talked to Drabek about three weeks ago and it sounded like they were going to wait and create a market for him,” Bavasi said. “With Avery, right now, I don’t see us being in the mix there.”

It’s hoped Jim Abbott, who had a major league-high 18 losses last season, will join Chuck Finley, Mark Langston, Allen Watson and Mark Gubicza in the rotation. But the Angels aren’t counting on a dramatic turnaround.

“Certainly, he’s in the plans, no question,” Collins said of Abbott. “If he comes into camp and shows he has the same stuff as a couple of years ago, he’ll have an impact on our ballclub.”

Said Bavasi: “We have a starting spot for Jim Abbott if Jim can return to the form he had when we got him [at the end of 1995].”

Former Oakland and Detroit right-hander Todd Van Poppel agreed to a one-year contract with the Angels on Thursday.