Angels Want Mo to Lighten Load

The Angels claim they’re not trying to trim payroll this winter, but they are trying to trim their first baseman--literally.

Late last season, Manager Mike Scioscia met with Mo Vaughn and asked the first baseman to drop 20-25 pounds from his 6-foot-1, 270-pound frame.

Weight has always been a sensitive subject for Vaughn, but when he failed to shed the 20-25 pounds he’d gained after suffering a sprained ankle in the 1999 season opener, extra weight that has severely hindered his mobility on defense and on the bases, the Angels could no longer avoid the issue.

Vaughn, 32, is owed $61 million over the next four years. His average plummeted from .337 in 1998 to .281 in 1999 to .272 in 2000, and the Angels don’t want their biggest investment to be reduced to a designated hitter.

“Mo needs to be lighter,” Scioscia said. “That would help his defense and his offensive production, because he’ll have the ability to move around the bases better and score more runs. It will also help him in the long term. He’s a young veteran at a crossroads, and he has to work harder to be the force he is.”

Vaughn had 36 home runs and 117 runs batted in last season, but the Angels believe he’ll be an even better hitter if he’s in better shape.