Someone Gave Mets OK to Scout Vaughn

A miscommunication in the Angel front office Thursday led to some confusion over whether the New York Mets received permission to watch Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn work out in Massachusetts. The Mets were granted permission from both the Angels and major league baseball and will not be subject to tampering charges.

When informed by a reporter Thursday night that a Met contingent headed by General Manager Steve Phillips had scouted Vaughn during the day, Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman said he was “not aware” of the visit and that New York had not sought permission to watch Vaughn.

Stoneman discovered Friday that another Angel front-office executive had granted the Mets permission to scout Vaughn on Thursday but forgot to tell Stoneman.

“We had determined that we were going to grant the Mets permission [to visit Vaughn] if they asked us and major league baseball approved,” Stoneman said. “They did do that, but I was not available when they called here to ask [on Thursday]. They talked to someone else in the loop and were granted permission, and I found out later they did call MLB, so there was no tampering.”

The Angels are discussing a trade that would send Vaughn to the Mets for pitcher Kevin Appier, but there are financial issues. Vaughn is owed $50 million over the next three years, including an $8-million signing bonus the Angels will pay, and Appier is owed $32 million over three years. New York would like the Angels to absorb more of Vaughn’s contract or accept another high-salaried player--first baseman Todd Zeile and shortstop Rey Ordonez have been mentioned--in a trade.

“We’re continuing to talk to the Angels,” Phillips said Friday. “It’s not appropriate to talk about details. Nothing is imminent. It could happen today. It could happen a week from now. I don’t know everybody’s plans, and I don’t know how discussions will go.

“We’ll either have something with the Angels or we won’t; this won’t be a lingering issue.”

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The Angels and Chicago White Sox swapped minor leaguers Friday, bringing left-handed pitcher Dan Mozingo and right-hander Jim Sweeney to Anaheim for infielder Josh Shaffer and outfielder Scott Bikowski. Shaffer is the son of Duane Shaffer, the White Sox’s senior director of scouting.