Angels Are Dropping in a Hurry

At this rate, the pennant race already will have passed the Angels by when Darin Erstad returns to the lineup.

They fell into last place in the American League West Friday, with a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays that dropped the Angels 8 1/2 games out of first and marked their third consecutive defeat in a supposed get-well homestand against the Devil Rays and Baltimore Orioles. As closer Troy Percival went on the disabled list, Erstad vowed to come back and risk rupturing his injured hamstring before considering surgery that would end his season, and General Manager Bill Stoneman acknowledged he has held trade talks in searching for a center fielder to fill in for Erstad.

The most intriguing news, however, was that the Angels had discussed a trade with the Kansas City Royals that would bring star center fielder Carlos Beltran to Anaheim, a move that would be far more significant than simply acquiring a stopgap for Erstad. The talks apparently ceased when the Royals demanded a package of top prospects, including but not limited to the Angels’ most promising minor leaguers, first baseman Casey Kotchman and catcher Jeff Mathis.

The Angels dropped to 13-15 without Erstad, their Gold Glove center fielder. He has not played in five weeks because of severe tendinitis in his right hamstring. The Angels hope he can return in two to three weeks, but he remains unable to run at anything close to full speed.

In his absence, Eric Owens and Jeff DaVanon have shared center field, but neither has approached Erstad’s gold standard on defense. Owens is batting .209. DaVanon is batting .298, although he bats ninth and struck out three times Friday.

So long as Erstad’s return date remains uncertain, Stoneman has checked out center fielders available in trade.

“I’ve had some discussions with other people,” he said. “In all cases save one, we’ve got guys better than the guys being offered.”

Stoneman wouldn’t elaborate, but he didn’t have to. The Royals, with a mandate to cut payroll and a belief Beltran plans to test the free-agent market next year, have offered their center fielder in trade all year.

Beltran, 26, batted .273 last year, with 29 home runs, 105 runs batted in and 35 stolen bases. In three of the past four seasons, he has scored and driven in at least 100 runs.

His acquisition would afford the Angels numerous options, including moving Tim Salmon to designated hitter or returning Erstad to first base or left field, and would allow the Angels to upgrade their major league roster without trading away anyone on it.

At the same time, the Angels would sacrifice several jewels of a still-thin farm system, without any guarantee Beltran would stick around beyond next year and with the assurance he would command a fat contract if he did. He rejected a three-year, $25.3-million offer from the Royals this year, playing on a one-year, $6-million contract that preserves his eligibility for free agency after the 2004 season.

“Do you really want to relinquish the guys who are in fact your future -- and are going to be your future for a long time -- to do something that could be fairly short-term in nature?” Stoneman said.

In Friday’s game, Tampa Bay’s Rocco Baldelli got four hits, including a home run, and Jeremi Gonzalez held the Angels to two hits over six innings for his first major league victory in five years.

Before the game, Erstad acknowleged his painfully slow recovery has forced him to ponder every unhappy possibility, including season-ending surgery. Doctors have told him that corrective surgery would require four to six months of rehabilitation. Erstad said he would play again, whenever that might be, before submitting to surgery to repair the injured hamstring.

“I’m going to blow it out before I have surgery,” he said.