QUESTION: MARK?

To trade or not to trade? That is the question facing the Angels, who for the first time in years are actually being pursued--instead of shunned--by one of baseball’s premier players.

This should be an exciting time in franchise history--Oakland slugger Mark McGwire, the game’s home run leader, actually wants to play for a team that has never reached the World Series and has some of America’s least-passionate fans.

But the prospect of the big redhead wearing periwinkle and pinstripes is causing more angst than anticipation in the Big-But-Could-Be-Much-Bigger A.

Do the Angels deal for McGwire before the July 31 trading deadline, giving up one or two of their top prospects and perhaps one of their top young outfielders?

Or should they wait until the off-season, when they can bid on the A’s first baseman as a free agent and keep their threadbare farm system intact?

Do they fortify their team now for a serious run at the American League West title and, dare we say, the World Series?

Or should the Angels, who have managed fine without McGwire, keep one of baseball’s best outfields together and proceed this season with no disruptions?

Do the Angels really need McGwire?

So many questions, and . . . so many answers, really.

WHY THE ANGELS SHOULD TRADE

It might not quite rival Griffey-Martinez-Buhner, but an Angel lineup featuring Jim Edmonds, Mark McGwire and Tim Salmon in the middle would be “scary,” as Angel shortstop Gary DiSarcina said.

McGwire, who had 31 home runs and 71 runs batted in through Sunday, would add power from the right side and could transform the Angels from a division to pennant contender.

Angel President Tony Tavares can’t stand it when Orange County fans cheer opponents more than the Angels, but imagine the excitement McGwire’s chase of Roger Maris’ home run record and a pennant race would generate in Anaheim Stadium this fall. They’d have to rent an extra bandwagon or two.

Trading for McGwire would also show Angel fans the Walt Disney Co. is more serious about winning than rocket-launching balled-up T-shirts into the crowd. And fans who will absorb steep ticket-price increases in the renovated stadium next year would feel their money is going toward a worthy cause.

McGwire, who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and went to USC, wants to play in Anaheim to be close to his 9-year-old son, Matthew, who lives in Orange County, and any deal would probably include McGwire’s signing a multiyear contract extension with the Angels.

McGwire, 33, has said he has all the money he needs--his priorities are to be near his family and play for a contender--and some think he’ll be more inclined to sign with the Angels at a more reasonable rate, perhaps in the $8.5-million-a-year range, well under his market value.

By trading for McGwire and signing him now, the Angels avoid a bidding war and the $10-million-a-year offers McGwire is expected to receive this winter.

The A’s are believed to be interested in either Edmonds, Garret Anderson or Darin Erstad, and one of the Angels’ top pitching prospects, either Matt Perisho, Jarrod Washburn or Scott Schoeneweis.

The Angels could also throw one of their top first-base prospects--Chris Pritchett (triple A), Danny Bauxbaum (double A) or Larry Barnes (Class A)--into the deal.

If the Angels sign McGwire as a free agent this winter, they’ll owe the A’s two top draft picks as compensation, so they’ll lose prospects either way.

And if the A’s insist on Anderson--it’s highly unlikely the Angels will part with Edmonds, Erstad or Perisho--Erstad could give up his first base spot and spend the rest of 1997 as designated hitter, giving his ailing left elbow, which prevents him from playing outfield this season, ample rest.

Erstad could then move to left field, his more natural position, in 1998, and Tony Phillips, if he is retained next season, could move from left to designated hitter.

WHY THE ANGELS SHOULD NOT TRADE

In addition to an outfielder, the A’s need pitching, but that’s one commodity the Angels can’t afford to part with, especially if Oakland wants Perisho.

The 21-year-old left-hander showed in a five-week Anaheim stint he has the stuff and the mental makeup to pitch in the major leagues, and he could anchor the rotation with Jason Dickson for years.

Aside from Perisho, there is nostarting pitcher at triple-A Vancouver who is ready for the big leagues--why do you think the Angels signed aging Kevin Gross a few weeks back?--and there are serious doubts whether any of the triple-A pitchers are big league material.

Mark Langston, who turns 37 in August, is nearing the end of his career, and so is Chuck Finley, 34. Dickson, Perisho and Allen Watson, 26, could provide the foundation for the rotation into the next century, but unless Disney forks over big bucks for free agents, the system must produce more arms.

Many in the Angel front office believe Washburn and Schoeneweis are those arms.

If Langston, who makes $4.5 million this season, and Mark Gubicza, who makes $1.6 million, return in 1998, it will be at drastically reduced rates, and the Angels could use those savings toward McGwire, who, if signed as a free agent, would only boost their payroll by a few million.

And then imagine the Angel lineup. An outfield of Anderson, Edmonds and Salmon. McGwire at first. Erstad could DH, and Phillips could play second base.

Second baseman Luis Alicea could move to the utility spot, where he was originally slotted before Randy Velarde’s elbow injury, giving the Angels an even stronger bench.

If the A’s insist on Anderson, the Angels would essentially be swapping a 25-year-old budding superstar for a 33-year-old established superstar. That may not sit well with Manager Terry Collins, who has been enamored of Anderson this season.

Anderson has made tremendous defensive strides since 1996, he’s batting .315 overall, .310 against left-handers and .280 with runners in scoring position. He has only two homers but has driven in 50 runs, and many scouts believe his stroke will eventually produce more power.

But if the Angels decide they can part with Anderson, they could still hold off on the McGwire deal, sign the slugger this winter and package Anderson in a deal for a top-flight starting pitcher.

Before the McGwire trade rumors began heating up, Tavares and General Manager Bill Bavasi maintained that pitching is the Angels’ biggest need. Has that really changed?

Tavares also said one of Disney’s priorities is to beef up a farm system that has few prospects. Dealing two or three to the A’s now wouldn’t help.

“I want to get on the other end of those deals,” Tavares said, “where we give up one player and get two or three prospects.”

DO THE ANGELS REALLY NEED McGWIRE?

McGwire has been sound this season, but he was limited to 27 games in 1993, 47 games in ‘94, 104 games in ’95 and 130 games in ’96 because of foot and back injuries. He could break down again, making an investment extremely risky.

But imagine what an injury-free McGwire could do for the Angels the next two or three years? He’d be the marquee name Disney needs to attract fans, he’s one of baseball’s most feared hitters and his presence would send shivers all the way to Seattle.

Managers say pitching and defense win championships, but hitting is just as important in the American League. Just look at Seattle, which leads the West despite having only three quality starters and a shoddy bullpen, and Cleveland, which leads the Central despite gaping holes in its rotation.

Even mighty Baltimore’s rotation drops off considerably after Mike Mussina, Jimmy Key and Scott Erickson, and the Angels have challenged with only three quality starters. But the common denominator for contenders is a potent offense.

Four or five quality starters may be needed to reach the playoffs, but only three are needed to win the World Series. And as good as Anderson is--and could be--the Angels would be better with McGwire at first and Erstad in left.

“These kinds of opportunities don’t come along too often,” said one baseball executive. “When you have the chance to get Mark McGwire, you don’t want to be too cheap. You do it.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

McGwire By The Numbers

Home Run Ratio

Career

At-bats: 4,392

HR: 360

Ratio: 1:12.2 at-bats

*

At Anaheim Stadium

At-bats: 179

HR: 11

Ratio: 1:16.3 at-bats

Through Sunday

Home Run Comparison

How the top Angel home run hitters for each year compare with McGwire’s numbers.

ANGELS

1987: 34

1988: 25

1989: 22

1990: 24

1991: 28

1992: 12

1993: 31

1994: 26

1995: 34

1996: 30

*

McGWIRE

1987: 49

1988: 32

1989: 33

1990: 39

1991: 22

1992: 42

1993: 9

1994: 9

1995: 39

1996: 52