Deals Don’t Frighten Him

In his first trade as the Angels’ general manager, Bill Stoneman sent outfielder Jim Edmonds to St. Louis for pitcher Kent Bottenfield and second baseman Adam Kennedy.

The Cardinals give thanks daily.

In the three years since then, Stoneman has not made another high-risk trade. He has worked the waiver wire shrewdly, and invested money and patience in beefing up the Angels’ scouting and minor league operations, with the impressive debut of pitcher John Lackey as the latest reward.

But, since the Edmonds trade backfired, has Stoneman become too cautious to pull the trigger on another trade, one that might require giving up top prospects?

As the Angels battle the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics in the American League West, the track records of Seattle’s Pat Gillick and Oakland’s Billy Beane suggest the rival general managers won’t hesitate to deal. Stoneman’s record suggests he might.

Stoneman denied that the Edmonds trade has made him too cautious, offering a startling assessment of the trade talks surrounding Edmonds.

“The truth is, there wasn’t a market for him,” Stoneman said.

Edmonds’ talent was undisputed, but his trade value apparently had been deflated by repeated criticism by Angel teammates and management, and by a string of injuries.

“He’s been relatively healthy in St. Louis, and I’m happy for him,” Stoneman said. “He wasn’t healthy here.

“We needed a second baseman, and we thought we had a pitcher who could help us--not in the long term but in the short term--but he didn’t.”

The Angels would like to trade for pitching help, probably a hard-throwing reliever. If he cannot make that trade, Stoneman does not believe the Angels are doomed.

“We don’t have any glaring weaknesses where you say, if they don’t plug this hole, they’ve got no chance,” he said.

And, although fans might salivate over the thought of Cleveland’s Jim Thome playing first base in Anaheim, the Angels are not focused on trading to improve an offense that has scored more runs than every other major league team, save the Yankees.

“It’s tough to find fault with what our offense has done,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“Is there something that’s going to make us that much better?”

*

Outfielder Garret Anderson’s selection as an All-Star gives the Angels two All-Stars from the 1990 draft, impressive in itself and extraordinary from a draft in which the Angels did not have a first-round pick. Bob Fontaine, then the Angels’ scouting director, selected Anderson from Granada Hills Kennedy High in the fourth round and catcher-turned-closer Troy Percival from UC Riverside in the sixth round. The second-round pick that year, pitcher Phil Leftwich, beat Anderson and Percival to Anaheim but won just nine games in 34 starts.

ON DECK

Opponent--Baltimore Orioles, three games.

Site--Edison Field.

Tonight--7 p.m.

TV--Fox Sports Net, all games.

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

Records--Angels 47-33, Orioles 38-41.

Record vs. Orioles (2001)--4-5.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ RAMON ORTIZ

(8-5, 3.47 ERA)

vs.

ORIOLES’ RODRIGO LOPEZ

(6-3, 3.11 ERA)

Update--Percival led the league with 11 saves in June. Since he gave up a three-run home run to Oakland’s Greg Myers April 21, Percival is 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA and 17 saves in 18 chances.

Wednesday, 7 p.m.--Jarrod Washburn (8-2, 3.47) vs. Scott Erickson (3-7, 4.66).

Thursday, 6 p.m.--Kevin Appier (6-6, 4.52) vs. Travis Driskill (5-1, 4.12).

Tickets--(714) 663-9000.