Collins Happy With Full-House Outfield

Manager Terry Collins didn’t exactly drive a wooden stake through the persistent trade rumors that have swirled around outfielders Jim Edmonds and Garret Anderson, but he dealt them a severe blow Friday.

“Everyone thinks we’re trying to move an outfielder--we’re not,” Collins said. “We’re in a good situation. So many things can happen in the long run, we can’t just give away talent.”

Collins said the Angels would never rule out a trade that makes them better, “but we are not afraid to leave camp with four outfielders.”

Such depth, with Edmonds, Anderson, Tim Salmon and Darin Erstad, will enable the Angels to better absorb an injury. Collins believes if he can give his regulars some extra time off in July and August, perhaps they’ll be fresher in September, when injuries and fatigue have derailed the Angels in three of the last four years.

But there is one possible drawback: with Todd Greene and possibly Dave Hollins also available to DH, more talent could mean less playing time for veterans who consider days off an affront.

“They’re all going to play, so there might be a day when I sit someone and they’ll be upset about it,” Collins said. “I respect that, but I know one thing--every one of these guys wants to be on this team. In order for them to contribute, they have to accept what we decide.”

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Second baseman Randy Velarde has nothing against infielder Pat Meares, but he was glad to see the former Minnesota Twins shortstop sign last week with Pittsburgh, and not Anaheim.

Meares became a free agent when the Twins declined to offer him a contract, and the Angels talked to his agent about the possibility of Meares playing second.

“That wouldn’t have gone over well for obvious reasons,” said Velarde, who signed a one-year, $800,000 deal this winter and did not relish returning to a utility role.

“My first impulse [when he heard the Angels were talking to Meares] was to be upset, but I have to look at it from their perspective. They’ve had a lot of injuries.”

Second-base prospect Justin Baughman broke his leg last November in a Mexican Winter League game and probably won’t return to action until June, and Velarde sat out all of 1997 and half of ’98 because of elbow surgery.

Velarde played 49 games last August and September, finishing with a .261 average and 26 RBIs and showing no ill effects from his injury.

“I was hoping those last 50 games would solidify my standing here,” said Velarde, who appears to be in peak condition this spring.

Collins said Velarde shouldn’t take the Angels’ pursuit of Meares personally.

“We signed Randy because we want him,” Collins said. “The hard part is, nothing is a secret anymore. You can’t talk to anyone without it getting in the paper. A guy is mentioned in a trade rumor and he thinks we don’t like him. That’s not the case.”

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Not that there was any doubt, but Collins confirmed Friday that Chuck Finley will be the Angels’ opening-day starter April 6 against Cleveland in Edison Field. “He’s earned it--he deserves it,” Collins said. Finley will be followed in the rotation by Tim Belcher and Ken Hill. . . . Angel closer Troy Percival left camp Friday to return to Southern California to be with his wife, who was due to deliver the couple’s first child. . . . The Angels have agreed to terms with Mark Harriger on a one-year contract.

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The Angels have discussed their proposed trip to Cuba with the commissioner’s office, major league baseball spokesman Rich Levin said.

While the Angels hope to visit Havana next spring, the Baltimore Orioles still want to play there this spring. Levin said an Oriole trip this year would not preclude an Angel trip next year. Major league baseball, as well as the U.S. and Cuban governments, would need to approve any trip, Levin said.

The Orioles’ plan for a March 28 exhibition in Havana, and perhaps a second game April 3 in Baltimore, remains in limbo as U.S. and Cuban governments bicker over which charities would distribute proceeds from the games. The Orioles’ proposal “is not dead, but there needs to be a final decision fairly soon,” Levin said.

The Orioles have received--and the Angels have applied for--the Treasury Department license that exempts them from the long-standing U.S. trade embargo and permits them to travel to Cuba to negotiate terms of a game. No major league team has played in Cuba since the Brooklyn Dodgers visited Havana in 1947.

Staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this story.