Velarde Narrowly Avoids Arm Injury

An inch or two closer to the wrist, and second baseman Randy Velarde might have joined fellow middle infielder Gary DiSarcina on the sidelines because of a left arm injury.

Velarde escaped serious harm Thursday after being drilled by a fastball from Reid Cornelius on the second-to-last pitch of an intrasquad game. The only thing shattered was Velarde’s calm.

“When you’ve been out for a year and a half and something like this happens, the worst things go through your mind,” said Velarde, who sat out 1997 and half of ’98 because of elbow surgery. “You get a ball around the wrist area, it could mean catastrophe.”

DiSarcina broke a bone in his left forearm when he was struck by a fungo bat Feb. 21.

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The Angels agreed to terms with reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa on a one-year contract, but agent Ed Kleven said discussions will continue on a multiyear deal for the versatile right-hander. Hasegawa made $490,000 in base salary and $300,000 in incentives in 1998, when he went 8-3 with a 3.14 earned-run average and five saves in 97 1/3 innings.

But because foreign players don’t receive credit for previous service--Hasegawa has played six years in Japan and two in Anaheim--there have been differences between Kleven and the Angels over Hasegawa’s market value.

“We could agree on some things and not on others,” Kleven said. “It’s something we have to live with, and we can’t change the system.”

The Angels also agreed to terms on 1999 contracts with pitchers Jarrod Washburn and Geoff Edsell, infielders Troy Glaus and Chris Pritchett, outfielder Orlando Palmeiro and catcher Phil Nevin. They renewed catcher Todd Greene’s contract for $225,000, the first time in General Manager Bill Bavasi’s six years the team has renewed a player.

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Chuck Finley, out for five days because of upper-back spasms, threw off a mound and is expected to start in Saturday’s exhibition game.