Relief Has to Be Fast and Cheap

For the Angels, the dollars and sense equation goes something like this: The more you pay your middle relievers, the less sense it makes.

So it’s a rite of winter for the Angels to shed a veteran and potentially expensive middle reliever--Mike Magnante two years ago, Mark Petkovsek last year, Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Mike Holtz this year. On a team with visions of contention, that puts a burden on the front office, scouts and minor league coaches to find and develop relievers of comparable quality at a cheaper price.

There is no better way to demoralize a team than to employ an All-Star closer, such as the Angels’ Troy Percival, but be unable to use him to save games because middle relievers repeatedly blow leads. The Angels have weathered the losses of Magnante and Petkovsek, and General Manager Bill Stoneman is confident that his bullpen will flourish without Hasegawa and Holtz. Economically, he says, he has no choice.

“You have to decide the value of each player, and relief guys other than the closer don’t get paid like closers or first basemen or outfielders,” Stoneman said. “The Yankees might be an exception, but they can afford to be an exception.”

So can two of the Angels’ AL West rivals. The Yankees set a standard by signing Steve Karsay for three years and $22.5 million, but the Texas Rangers signed Jay Powell for three years and $9 million and Todd Van Poppel for three years and $7.5 million. The Seattle Mariners last year signed Arthur Rhodes for four years and $13 million and Jeff Nelson for three years and $10.5 million.

The Dodgers will pay Terry Mulholland $3 million this year, less than the Angels will pay for all five relievers who will set up Percival. Their success reflects the organizational success in finding them, particularly for Lou Pote, signed as a minor league free agent, and Al Levine and Ben Weber, claimed on waivers.

The Angels could get burned, of course, but not as expensively as the Rangers did with Petkovsek: After he pitched two solid seasons in Anaheim, the Rangers signed him for $5 million over two years, then released him after one and ate the whole salary after he posted a 6.69 earned-run average last season.

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Matt Wise started the Angels’ Cactus League opener Wednesday, working two innings and giving up four singles and one run in a 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres. Wise is unlikely to crack the rotation but would be the Angels’ first choice in case of injury to one of the top five starters.

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Jarrod Washburn said he is receptive to the Angels’ interest in signing him to a long-term contract. After a 2000 season interrupted by biceps and shoulder injuries, Washburn pitched 193 innings last season and said he completed a physical therapy program in the off-season designed to add strength and flexibility to his pitching shoulder. “I feel stronger now than I ever have,” he said.