Edmonds Trade in Works

The Angels are involved in serious negotiations with the Athletics about a trade that would send center fielder Jim Edmonds to Oakland for pitcher Brett Laxton and two more players, but the deal could hinge on whether A’s General Manager Billy Beane is willing to part with one of his top prospects for a player who may only be in Oakland for a year.

Another potential stumbling block: Beane must get ownership approval or clear some room on his $29-million payroll before adding Edmonds’ $4.65-million salary for 2000.

Rebuffed in their attempts to acquire outstanding A’s rookie pitcher Tim Hudson, the Angels settled on Laxton, a 26-year-old right-hander who went 13-8 with a 3.46 earned-run average for triple-A Vancouver last season, and who some rate just a notch below Angel prospect Ramon Ortiz.

The Angels also pursued third baseman Adam Piatt, who was named Baseball America’s 1999 minor league player of the year after a 39-homer, 135-RBI season at double-A Midland. But when told he was unavailable, they turned their sights to highly regarded outfield prospect Mario Encarnacion.

Encarnacion, a 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic, hit .309 with 18 homers and 71 RBIs in 94 games at Midland and .241 with three homers and 17 RBIs at Vancouver last season. Scouts give him high marks for power, speed and defense, and the A’s believe he’ll be ready to play center field in the big leagues by 2001.

Edmonds is entering the final year of his contract, and even though his agent, Paul Cohen, said Edmonds would be open to an extension with the A’s, there is no guarantee a franchise in such an ownership flux would be able to afford re-signing him.

So Beane, whose fielding-impaired outfield would benefit greatly from Edmonds’ two-time, Gold Glove Award-winning defense, is grappling with the possibility of having neither Edmonds nor Encarnacion in 2001.

The third player in the trade is believed to be a minor league infielder, possibly triple-A shortstop Jose Ortiz. Oakland’s Scott Spiezio, who lost his second-base job to Randy Velarde last season, could be thrown into a trade, but several sources made it clear Monday that Encarnacion and Oakland’s financial considerations are keys to the deal.

“From my understanding, this is by far the best offer the Angels have [for Edmonds],” Cohen said. “And Jimmy is fine with that. Oakland would be a good place for him. He loves hitting in that park, and he likes the guys on that team.”

Cohen said Oakland, which made a surprisingly strong run for a wild-card spot last season, was not on a list of nine teams Edmonds would not re-sign with under any circumstances. But he would not say if the A’s were on Edmonds’ list of seven or eight teams he thought were a good match.

Notes

The Angels took Philadelphia Phillie pitching prospect Derrick Turnbow in Monday’s Rule 5 major league draft, which is usually reserved for players who have spent some time in the big leagues or are on triple-A rosters. Turnbow was 12-8 with a 3.35 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 161 innings for Class-A Piedmont (N.C.) last season. The Angels also selected catcher Jaime Escalante, who played for Class-A Delmarva last season, in the Rule 5 minor league draft, and had a minor league outfielder, Marcus Knight, selected by Seattle.