Bavasi Angry Over Trade Talk

General Manager Bill Bavasi was seething over reports the Angels and San Diego Padres have agreed on a trade that would send Rickey Henderson to Anaheim, and Bavasi admonished the Padres for leaking information about trade talks.

“It’s B.S. It’s a rumor,” Bavasi said Thursday. “I call every club and talk about many players, and if every player we mentioned was in the paper, you’d be shocked. Some clubs act professionally in this process. Some don’t, and the minute you speak to them, it’s in the paper.

“It’s akin to tampering. We have upset players in this clubhouse because of it. Do we discuss players with other clubs? Yes. Do we have a deal with the Padres? No. This embarrasses me in front of my coaching staff, my peers, and my boss. It’s something that’s wrong with baseball, loose lips.”

The Padres have been trying to trade Henderson all spring, and several baseball sources said Wednesday that the Angels, concerned about Eddie Murray’s slow spring start, were interested in Henderson as a designated hitter.

The Associated Press, citing an unidentified source, reported Wednesday night that a deal had been worked out to send Angel reliever Chuck McElroy to San Diego for Henderson, and that the trade was contingent on Henderson restructuring his contract.

“The other problem now is there’s a player looking for me to say he’s not going anywhere,” Bavasi said, adding that he did not blame San Diego GM Kevin Towers for the leak.

“I can’t do that. If someone offered me Lou Gehrig for a player, I’d do it. So I can’t confirm or deny these things. The best thing I can tell a player is he’s not getting traded today.”

Murray, 41, was one for 20 before hitting a three-run homer and RBI single Wednesday, but Tim Mead, assistant general manager, said the Angels would not make a decision to replace the probable Hall of Famer based on only nine exhibition games.

“He was not signed to be a 25-homer, 100-RBI guy,” Mead said of Murray. “He was signed to hit 18-20 homers and knock in 70 runs. That’s something he’s done consistently. He was also signed to provide some leadership in the clubhouse and to help Darin Erstad at first base.”

Henderson, baseball’s all-time stolen base leader, said he would be willing to restructure a contract that will pay him a base salary of $2 million and up to $1.5 million in incentives.

“The main thing is if I’m going to play,” Henderson said. “It’s not really about the money. The biggest thing is being able to go out and do what I want to do.”