Brown, Clemens Come in Focus

The Angels are among six teams still in the running for five-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, and today they will make their pitch to free-agent right-hander Kevin Brown.

The team also agreed to terms Monday night on one-year contracts with second baseman Randy Velarde and pitcher Jack McDowell. Velarde signed for $800,000 and the oft-injured McDowell signed for a non-guaranteed base salary of $500,000 with incentives that could push the right-hander over $5 million.

On the Clemens front, Toronto General Manager Gord Ash said Monday he has narrowed his list of potential trade partners to six. The Astros, Rangers and Yankees are considered the top contenders for Clemens, but the Indians, Braves and Angels are in the hunt. The Cardinals, Padres and Dodgers could enter the bidding for Clemens if they don’t land Brown.

Clemens, 36, who requested a trade last week, would like to play closer to his home in the Houston area, but the Angels may have a wild card in new first baseman Mo Vaughn, a close friend and former Red Sox teammate of Clemens who has been trying to sell the right-hander on Anaheim.

Two obstacles for the Angels: they don’t appear to be a good match with the Blue Jays, who want a power-hitting outfielder, a second baseman and either a closer or starting pitcher, and the Angels’ most attractive trade bait, center fielder Jim Edmonds, is not expected to be included in a package for Clemens.

As a player with five years in the big leagues and in the middle of a multiyear contract, Edmonds could demand a trade after the season in which he is traded. His agent, Paul Cohen, said Edmonds has no interest in playing in Canada, so it’s not likely Toronto would pursue him.

That leaves the Angels hoping that a package probably including left fielder Garret Anderson, pitcher Jason Dickson and one of their top minor league pitching prospects is strong enough to interest the Blue Jays.

Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi will also meet this morning with Scott Boras, Brown’s agent, who is seeking a six-year deal in the $13-million-a-year range for the coveted Padre pitcher. Brown is scheduled to arrive in Orange County this afternoon and will probably meet Angel officials later today.

Brown and Boras will meet with Dodger officials, including General Manager Kevin Malone, on Wednesday. As for Brown’s asking price, Malone said: “I don’t think any [general manager] is really comfortable with giving a pitcher that length of a deal, and I’d really question the honesty of anyone who said they’re comfortable with that.

“You’re getting into uncomfortable waters when you extend a pitcher past four years, because you’re concerned about long-term durability, but Kevin Brown may be the exception to the rule.”

The Padres, Orioles, Braves, Cardinals and Rockies are also pursuing Brown, 33, and there is a perception that Brown wants to stay in the National League.

“But other than the fact he likes to hit, he has no predisposition one way or another,” Boras said. “He just wants to be on a club that is competitive every year.”

In other Angel-related news, the team signed utility player Craig Shipley to a minor league deal and declined to offer arbitration to utility player Gregg Jefferies, catcher Chad Kreuter and relievers Mike Fetters and Trevor Wilson, essentially cutting ties with those free agents.

McDowell, who sat out more than two months of 1998 because of elbow problems, said last summer that he would take next season off, but after returning in August and winning win four of his last five decisions and gaining arm strength this fall, he changed his mind.

His $500,000 base salary will only be guaranteed if he makes the team.

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Times staff writer Jason Reid contributed to this story.