Eckstein Not Close to Returning

David Eckstein has been unable to resume baseball-related activities because of lingering nerve irritation in his right hamstring, and it appears the Angel shortstop will not return until well after he is eligible to come off the disabled list next Tuesday.

Eckstein said he does not plan to take the rest of the season off to avoid aggravating the injury, even though the Angels are out of playoff contention.

“If you’re healthy [enough] to play, you definitely want to play,” said Eckstein, sidelined since Aug. 17. “You’ve got guys here who are battling, and you just want to be a part of that.”

Eckstein would especially like to return because he is fighting to keep his job for next season. Prospect Alfredo Amezaga, a possible low-cost alternative at shortstop, is hitting .261 in the eight games since Eckstein’s injury, and the Angels have expressed interest in Japanese shortstop Kazuo Matsui of the Seibu Lions.

Eckstein, hitting a career-low .254 with an unimpressive .328 on-base percentage, welcomes the competition -- as long as he is physically sound enough to be part of it.

“Whenever I step on the field, I feel like I’m competing for a job,” he said. “I’ll do that until I stop playing, because if I don’t, I’m losing the edge. Competition is great.”

Dr. Lewis Yocum, the Angels’ medical director, examined Eckstein on Tuesday, but until the shortstop can resume running, there is no timetable for his return.

“Unless there’s some dramatic improvement from now until the weekend, when he would be able to get into some activity and then see how he comes out of it, [Eckstein’s return] might be pushed back a little bit,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

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After a Japanese media report in which the Seibu Lions threatened to file tampering charges against the Angels, General Manager Bill Stoneman reiterated that his scouts are not permitted to publicly discuss a player under contract to another team, let alone what offer the Angels might make to him.

“I certainly have reminded our people of that,” Stoneman said. “We’ll remind them again.”

A Japanese newspaper reported last week that the Angels were preparing a three-year, $17-million offer to Matsui. Although two Angel scouts watched Matsui play last week, Stoneman said no such offer had been prepared or authorized. The Angels are among several major league clubs interested in Matsui, who will be a free agent this fall.

Stoneman said no tampering charges have been filed. He also said the incident was unrelated to the weekend firing of scouting director Donny Rowland.

Should the Angels look outside the organization to replace Rowland, baseball sources said the candidates could include Tim Hallgren, a former Texas Ranger scouting director now working for the Dodgers; Jeff Scott, a top scout for the St. Louis Cardinals; and Jim Fregosi Jr., a top scout for the Philadelphia Phillies and son of the former Angel shortstop.

Rowland has not returned calls since his dismissal but did issue a statement to Baseball America.

“I very much appreciated the opportunity Bill and the Angels gave me,” he said. “I value the many friendships I made while I was there, and I’m very proud of the staff we assembled and the work they did and their accomplishments. I wish the Angels’ organization the utmost success in the future.”