Angel Fans Could See a New Face in Right

The Angels are close to signing a two-year, $6-million contract with free-agent outfielder Jose Guillen, industry sources said Monday as baseball’s winter meetings ended. General Manager Bill Stoneman returned to Anaheim without confirming the signing, but sources said an announcement could be made this week.

“Both sides have expressed sincere interest,” agent Adam Katz said without elaborating.

As Guillen was closing in on a deal that would make him the regular right fielder and allow the Angels to move Tim Salmon into the designated hitter role, former Angel first baseman Scott Spiezio, a free agent, reached an agreement with the Seattle Mariners on a three-year, $9-million contract, pending the results of a physical.

Spiezio, whose home run in the sixth game of the 2002 World Series may rank as the most famous in Angel history, clearly made the right decision when he recently rejected a two-year offer from the club that would have reduced his salary more than 50%.

After Spiezio earned $4.25 million last year, the Angels, unwilling to promise him a full-time role at first base, offered him two years at a total that was less than $4.25 million. Because the club did not offer him salary arbitration on Dec. 7, he could not have re-signed with the Angels until May 1.

Where Spiezio will play with the Mariners is not clear, and club officials said they couldn’t comment until the physical is completed. Since John Olerud is entrenched at first base in Seattle, the versatile Spiezio may see more action at third. Jeff Cirillo has been a disappointment at the position and could be traded, opening up more time for Spiezio.

Meantime, the Angels, looking for economically prudent additions in the outfield and at first base after investing almost $70 million in free-agent pitchers Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar, targeted Guillen early, a club source said.

The 28-year-old outfielder slugged 31 homers, drove in 86 runs and batted a combined .311 for the Cincinnati Reds and Oakland Athletics last year. He played for the A’s in the five-game division-series loss to the Boston Red Sox despite a broken bone in his left hand, which the Angels would be expected to have doctors examine before a contract is officially signed. A person close to Guillen said that the hand is 100%.

Guillen has played for five organizations in seven years and has a reputation for being what one baseball executive called “a squeaky wheel” when he doesn’t play, but that shouldn’t be a problem with the Angels, providing the agreement is finalized.

Although Salmon will continue to receive some playing time in right, Guillen would be expected to play 140 or more games at the position. Scouts consider him an adequate outfielder with an intimidating arm.

Guillen, who hails from the Dominican Republic, recently said he had been offered a one-year contract by the New York Mets and was planning to accept it because he wanted to play in New York, but the opportunity closed when the Mets were unable to trade Roger Cedeno to Seattle, which would have opened a spot for Guillen.

Meantime, the market value for outfielders in his category improved some during the winter meetings. Two other free agents, Jose Cruz Jr., and Rondell White, agreed to two year, $6-million contracts -- Cruz with Tampa Bay and White with Detroit.

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Numbers Game

Free-agent outfielder Jose Guillen’s statistics from last season:

*--* Year Team G AB R H 2B HR RBI SO AVG. 2003 Cincinnati 91 315 52 106 21 23 63 63 337 2003 Oakland 45 170 25 45 7 8 23 32 265 Total 136 485 77 151 28 31 86 95 311 Career 750 2,535 316 684 130 83 354 474 270

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