Dodgers, Angels Think Pitching

As Alex Rodriguez continued his ego trip through Colorado and Texas on Wednesday, the Angels and Dodgers continued to search for pitching, with a possibility they could end up vying for the same free-agent right-hander--Andy Ashby.

There is also the possibility that the Dodgers may travel a more expensive route, although a meeting involving club executives and free-agent left-hander Mike Hampton, scheduled Wednesday at the pitcher’s Houston home, had to be canceled, agent Mark Rodgers said.

“I don’t care to say who canceled the meeting, but it doesn’t mean the Dodgers aren’t still in the mix,” Rodgers said, adding that he expected to talk to Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone before the end of the week and that Hampton, a genial host to the executives of at least a half-dozen teams in recent days, hoped to narrow his choices and begin negotiations next week.

Dodger spokesman Derrick Hall said that Wednesday’s canceled meeting hasn’t been rescheduled but “that’s not to say we won’t meet with them because we’re interested in many free-agent pitchers since pitching remains our No. 1 priority.”

It had been thought, however, that the Dodgers, already committed to paying 15 players $76.8 million next year (not including Darren Dreifort and Chan Ho Park), would consider Hampton and Mike Mussina to be too expensive and would try to choose from among a second tier of free-agent pitchers. That group includes Ashby, Rick Reed (sources maintain that the Dodgers have made a three-year offer), Denny Neagle and Kevin Appier.

All of the pitchers in that group have been waiting for Mussina and Hampton to elevate the salary scale, a wait that is expected to end today with the announcement that Mussina has agreed to a six-year, $87-million contract with the New York Yankees. Hampton, who was 15-10 with the New York Mets last season, is expected to command a similar package.

Rodgers said he met with Malone and Dodger counsel Sam Fernandez during the general managers meetings in Florida in early November and thought the Dodgers to be legitimately interested.

“I believe they still have an interest,” he said, “but the process is about to reach a point at which we’re going to have to know for sure.”

While the Dodgers, who may be forced to sign more than one free-agent starter if Dreifort leaves as a free agent, weighed a Hampton pursuit, the agent for the less-expensive Ashby confirmed that he has heard from both the Dodgers and Angels, who are looking for veteran arms to supplement their young rotation.

“The Angels expressed some interest, but they want to wait a few weeks to see if he’s still around,” Adam Katz said, implying that they may also want to wait to see if they price goes down. “The Dodgers seemed a little more serious about him. He’s definitely [among their possibilities].”

Ashby, 33, represents an intriguing option for the Dodgers, because he had his best season (17-9 with a 3.34 earned-run average) as a No. 2 starter behind Kevin Brown with the San Diego Padres in 1998. Last year, while earning $5.9 million in 31 games with the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves, he was 12-13 with a 4.92 ERA.

Rodriguez, meantime, met with officials of the Rockies in Denver on Wednesday after being courted by officials of the Rangers in Texas on Tuesday. Since the surprising withdrawal of the Mets, however, Rodriguez is believed to have encountered a limited market, and one that does not currently include the Angels and Dodgers.

Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman, with a hole at shortstop and having talked with agent Jim Bronner about the possible acquisition of free-agent Alex Gonzalez, almost emphatically ruled out Rodriguez Wednesday.

“We haven’t had any discussions about Alex Rodriguez” Stoneman said. “We’ve definitely taken a look at shortstop, but I don’t want to mislead anyone about A-Rod. We are what we are, a mid-market team, and we’re going to live and act like one. Alex Rodriguez is going to be looked at by [teams] with a lot more resources than we have.”

Whether the Dodgers ultimately prove to be one of them is unclear. An agent who has had recent dealings with the Dodgers said their plans “seem to be elusive. I think they think they can sign A-Rod if they wait out their competition and avoid a bidding war and everything else they are doing, such as the Hampton thing, is a lot of misdirection.”

Times staff writers Mike DiGiovanna and Jason Reid contributed to this story.