Stoneman Loses Shuey to Dodgers

The Angels lost out on one of the players they most coveted in trade, when General Manager Bill Stoneman refused to include his top prospects in a proposed deal for Cleveland reliever Paul Shuey. The Dodgers had no such hesitation and acquired Shuey from the Indians on Sunday.

“The Angels were very seriously and very firmly in on Paul Shuey,” Cleveland General Manager Mark Shapiro said. “Stoneman was persistent. He made a very competitive offer.”

The Angels believed that Shuey would have made an ideal acquisition, since he is a proven setup man and not a closer who would have to adjust to a setup role. The Angels are believed to have offered two prospects for Shuey, though neither Shapiro nor Angel officials would discuss the offer.

In the four-player trade, the Dodgers gave up two promising pitchers, one their top-ranked pitching prospect and another a Class-A pitcher with 111 strikeouts in 113 innings, neither older than 23. An equivalent trade for the Angels would have included dazzling triple-A right-hander Francisco Rodriguez, 20, and a top lower-level prospect such as right-hander Johan Santana, 18, a deal Stoneman would not make.

With Stoneman protective of his top prospects and the Angels reluctant to add substantially to their player payroll, a significant trade by Wednesday’s deadline appears increasingly unlikely.

But a lesser deal remains possible, with potential targets that include relievers Juan Acevedo (Detroit), Vic Darensbourg (Florida), Mike DeJean (Milwaukee), Jose Jimenez (Colorado), Braden Looper (Florida), Dan Plesac (Philadelphia), Ricardo Rincon (Cleveland) and Scott Sauerback (Pittsburgh) and outfielders Bubba Trammell (San Diego), Matt Stairs (Milwaukee), Chris Singleton (Baltimore), Eric Owens (Florida), Kevin Millar (Florida), Carlos Lee (Chicago White Sox), Trenidad Hubbard (San Diego) and Todd Hollandsworth (Colorado).

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Infielder Jose Nieves, at his request, met with Manager Mike Scioscia before the game to discuss his dwindling playing time. Nieves has six at-bats since Shawn Wooten returned from the disabled list 18 days ago, and his primary role at the moment is pinch-runner. He said he did not ask to be traded, though the Angels would do so for an extra outfielder or reliever, and said he is happy with a major league job on a winning team.

Nieves, hitting .289, said he did not necessarily need a chance to prove himself.

“I had my chance earlier,” he said. “I think I took advantage of it.”

And, although Scioscia typically platoons at designated hitter, he did not use Brad Fullmer to bat for Shawn Wooten in the ninth inning Sunday against right-handed closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, although Wooten batted for Fullmer Saturday against left-hander Arthur Rhodes. Fullmer, with six hits in his last 14 at-bats, said he is content playing for a winning team and does not wish to be traded, but he isn’t thrilled that he is not the everyday player he was told he would be in spring training. He said he does not plan to seek clarification of his role from Scioscia.

ON DECK

Opponent--Boston Red Sox, three games.

Site--Edison Field.

Tonight--7 p.m.

TV--Fox Sports Net, all games.

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

Records--Angels 62-41, Red Sox 61-42.

Record vs. Red Sox (2001)--4-3.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ AARON SELE

(8-7, 4.73 ERA)

vs.

RED SOX’S CASEY FOSSUM

(2-1, 3.15 ERA)

Update--Outfielder Garret Anderson extended his hitting streak to 14 games Sunday. Shortstop David Eckstein hit .419 in the 11-game stretch against Oakland and Seattle.

Tuesday, 7 p.m.--Ramon Ortiz (8-2, 3.47) vs. Pedro Martinez (13-2, 2.50).

Wednesday, 7 p.m.--John Lackey (2-1, 3.11) vs. Tim Wakefield (4-3, 3.23).

Tickets--(714) 663-9000.