Third Day Isn’t Charming for Finley

Last February, on the third day of spring training ‘96, pitcher Chuck Finley developed back spasms that kept him out of workouts for several days. On the third day of spring training ‘97, Finley came down with a sore shoulder that will prevent him from throwing until Friday.

Is there a trend developing here?

“It’s just my built-in way of getting a few extra days off--I do it every spring,” said Finley, an 11-year veteran who did not miss a start last season. “As you get older, you learn these things. It’s my way of shortening spring training to five weeks.”

“A veteran move,” teammate Mark Gubicza said.

But seriously, folks . . . Finley said the soreness might stem from his decision to begin a weight-training program immediately after last season.

“I didn’t rest my arm enough,” he said. “It was real hard to get loose here, but now that I’m back on anti-inflammatory medication, it feels a lot better.”

Finley, who was 15-16 with a 4.16 earned-run average and a career-high 215 strikeouts in 1996 and is expected to anchor the rotation again this season, said the soreness is nothing to be concerned about. He expects to resume throwing Friday.

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Center fielder Jim Edmonds arrived Wednesday without a first baseman’s mitt but with a sore right thumb. Yes, the sprained ligament he suffered last June is still bothering him.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with it,” Edmonds said. “I don’t think it’s that bad, but [the pain] is still there.”

There has been speculation that if Darin Erstad can’t make the transition from outfield to first base, Edmonds, who played some first base in 1994, would return to the infield.

“But you can’t take a Gold Glover out of center field that quickly,” Manager Terry Collins said. “I would look at Eddie Murray or Jim Leyritz first. Edmonds is a very good first baseman and might be the next-best option [behind Erstad], but you don’t want to hurt yourself at two positions. . . . There are a lot of questions we won’t know the answers to until we see Darin at first.”

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Left-handed reliever Steve Frey, who has an 18-15 record and a 3.72 ERA in eight seasons, agreed to terms with the Angels on a triple-A contract Wednesday and will report to the team’s minor league camp March 1. Frey, who went 0-1 with a 4.72 ERA in 31 games for Philadelphia last season, spent the 1992 and ’93 seasons with the Angels. . . . The Angels agreed to terms on one-year contracts for pitchers Geoff Edsell, Pete Janicki, Fausto Macey and Matt Perisho, catcher Bret Hemphill and first baseman Chris Pritchett.