Appier Offers to Defer Salary to Get Extension

Pitcher Kevin Appier, who will make a team-high $12 million next season, has told the Angels he would defer a significant amount of that salary if the team would extend his contract -- at a much lower salary -- through 2005.

The offer could provide General Manager Bill Stoneman with additional millions to spend next season, when the Angels have committed $61 million to seven players -- Appier, third baseman Troy Glaus, pitchers Troy Percival and Aaron Sele, and outfielders Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad and Tim Salmon.

Stoneman neither accepted nor rejected the offer, Appier said. Stoneman declined to discuss the proposal Friday, saying that he prefers to leave contract matters for the off-season. But it is unlikely Stoneman would accept, because he would add guaranteed money to the 2005 payroll when he does not have to.

“Generally speaking, you would like to maintain a certain amount of payroll flexibility,” he said.

Appier would not say how many millions he proposed to defer next season or how cheaply he might play in 2005. He is 6-5 with a 4.78 earned-run average this season. He said he is uncertain about retirement when his contract expires after next season, assuming the Angels do not grant him another year, but he believes he could pitch effectively in 2005, at age 37.

“Kevin Brown is 38,” Appier said, pausing and then grinning. “Of course, he has a lot better stuff than I do.”

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The Angels have opened negotiations with the city of Tempe, Ariz., on an expansion to the team’s spring facility, one that would enable the Angels to hold the major league and minor league training camps within the same complex. The Angels’ minor leaguers currently train at Gene Autry Park in Mesa, about 25 minutes away.

The Angels’ lease in Tempe expires in 2007, although the team holds two five-year options. An expansion, which would include a second clubhouse and an additional three fields, could require two years of construction. For now, the Angels are focusing on upgrading in Tempe rather than exploring other options.

“We haven’t looked anywhere else and haven’t contemplated it,” said Kevin Uhlich, senior vice president of business operations. “In a perfect world, we would love to have our minor league camp together with our major league camp.”

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Shortstop David Eckstein, who has missed four consecutive games because of a bruised shoulder and strained back and neck, is expected to return next Thursday, in the Angels’ first game after the All-Star break.

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The Angels set their rotation for after the All-Star break, with 11-game winner Ramon Ortiz starting the first game. Jarrod Washburn, Appier, John Lackey and Sele will follow in that order.

The Angels adjusted the rotation in part to separate Appier and Sele, the starters most likely to tax the bullpen.