Right-Hander Bootcheck Signs for $1.8 Million

The Angels came to terms Friday with 6-foot-5 right-hander Chris Bootcheck, their second pick in the June draft and the 20th overall.

The signing bonus was for $1.8 million.

Bootcheck, who was 8-1 with a 3.60 earned-run average in his junior season at Auburn, will report to the Angels’ Instructional League in Mesa, Ariz., on Sept. 17.

Though it appeared for three months the sides might never agree on a bonus figure, the settlement came even as Bootcheck was considering transferring to another college program for his senior year.

“We felt all along Chris wanted to be an Angel,” scouting director Donny Rowland said, “and we knew all along we wanted Chris to be an Angel.”

Rowland considers Bootcheck to have command of four pitches, including a fastball and slider that already are big-league quality.

“He fits the profile of our philosophy of high-ceiling, high-reward players,” Rowland said.

Joe Torres, the club’s first pick and 11th overall, signed in June for $2.08 million. He is 4-1 with a 2.54 ERA in 11 games at Class-A Boise, where he has impressed coaches with his skills and poise.

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The Angels landed at LAX after 2 a.m. Friday, weary from their seven-game trip and facing six critical home games.

Critical, because after Friday night, they had only eight home games left.

Critical, because they were six games out of the lead in the American League West and had 22 games to make them up.

It appears the Angels must win at least five games against Baltimore and Tampa Bay on the homestand to stay close in the division and wild-card races, though the division leaders certainly have shown themselves to be vulnerable.

“I don’t care who we’re playing or what their record is, we gotta win,” Mo Vaughn said. “These teams have nothing to lose and they’re going to be playing like that.”

In the last five months, it was the Angels who had that edge.

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Cal Ripken started at third base Friday night for the first time since June 27, the day before he went on the disabled list because of inflammation in his lower back. He missed 59 games, then returned Sept. 1 and played four games as Baltimore’s designated hitter.

In his 18th season, Ripken is playing without a contract for next year. He said he will continue his career for at least one more season if his back--and the rest of him--is sound.

“We’ve had a very cautious approach,” he said. “They DH-ed me a little bit to raise the intensity of the game and also to keep control of it. I kind of passed that test.

“There are certain things that I’ve accomplished. Now it’s time to add the defense in.”

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Officials from the minor-league franchise in San Bernardino met Friday with Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman and Player Development Director Darrell Miller about moving the Angels’ class-A team to that town.

Angel minor-league agreements expire in triple-A Edmonton, double-A Erie and Class-A Lake Elsinore. The club is seeking alternatives, including replacing Elsinore with San Bernardino.

If they were to reach an agreement with San Bernardino officials, the Angels would replace the Dodgers at The Ranch, San Bernardino’s four-year-old ballpark.

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Tim Belcher, who threw 80 pitches Thursday in his first start in more than two months, said Friday that he felt no ill effects. Pitching coach Bud Black said he expected Belcher to make his next scheduled start, Tuesday against Tampa Bay.

The news remains grim on left-hander Jarrod Washburn, who threw in the bullpen Friday but is on a slow program.

Asked if he will pitch again this season, Washburn said, “It doesn’t look like it.”

Black said the chance was “remote.”

TODAY

ANGELS’

SCOTT KARL

(0-1, 9.00 ERA)

vs.

ORIOLES’

JOSE MERCEDES

(11-5, 4.11 ERA)

Edison Field, 1 p.m.

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--In two starts for the Angels, the left-handed Karl has given up eight earned runs on 18 hits in eight innings. He is 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA in his last three starts against Baltimore. In a season in which he was jerked in and out of the rotation in Colorado, Karl has allowed a .356 batting average--.307 to left-handers--in 19 games. Mercedes, a right-hander, has won three starts in a row and is 8-1 in his last 11 starts.

* Tickets--(714) 663-9000.