Angels’ Wish List Has Johnson or Stottlemyre

The Angels appear willing to increase their payroll enough to pursue at least one premier free agent this winter, and they already have contacted the agents for Randy Johnson and Todd Stottlemyre to express interest in the two pitchers.

San Diego Padre ace Kevin Brown is considered the jewel of this year’s free-agent class, but his price tag--the right-hander could command a four-year deal in the $53-million range, more than $13 million a year--is probably too steep for the Angels.

The Angels can’t discuss contract terms with players such as Johnson and Stottlemyre until after Nov. 5 because teams are given a 15-day window after the World Series to negotiate with their own free agents.

But Johnson, who went 10-1 with a 1.28 earned-run average and 116 strikeouts in 11 starts for the National League Central champion Houston Astros after being traded from Seattle in July, is believed to be looking for a package in the three-year, $30-million range.

Stottlemyre, 5-4 with a 4.33 ERA in 10 starts for the American League West champion Texas Rangers after being traded from St. Louis, is believed to be seeking a four-year, $30-million deal.

If the Angels are to land either Johnson, who tormented them for years as a Mariner, or Stottlemyre, who beat them twice in the last two weeks of the season, they will have to outbid the team that outplayed them in September for the AL West title.

The Rangers, with an aggressive new owner in Tom Hicks, appear ready to pursue both Johnson and Stottlemyre, though they would pull out of the running for one pitcher if they choose to enter the Bernie Williams sweepstakes.

If the Angels can’t land a top pitcher, they might bid for free-agent first baseman Mo Vaughn, with the intention of moving Darin Erstad from first to the outfield and trading Jim Edmonds or Garret Anderson for pitching.

The Yankees, in anticipation of losing Williams, reportedly have discussed a potential deal with the Angels that would send Edmonds to New York for pitcher Andy Pettitte, a trade the Angels probably would jump at.

The Angels closed 1998 with a $44-million payroll, but with the loss of almost $9.7 million in contracts (Allen Watson, Cecil Fielder and Jack McDowell) and raises of $4.4 million to their core group, they could sign a premier free agent and still keep their payroll under $50 million.

In a more immediate matter, the Angels have offered Dave Wallace a job as pitching coach to replace Marcel Lachemann, who resigned this month to become the Angels’ minor league field coordinator.

Wallace, the former Dodger pitching coach who spent 1998 in the New York Mets’ front office, met with General Manager Bill Bavasi and Manager Terry Collins in Anaheim this week and is expected to make a decision by early next week.

“I’m going to take the weekend to figure it out,” Wallace said by phone from his home in Massachusetts. “There’s a lot of things to think about, and I have some soul-searching to do.”