Anderson Deal Still a Priority

Center fielder Garret Anderson wouldn’t talk about it. Neither would General Manager Bill Stoneman. Anderson’s agent hasn’t returned calls, so he apparently doesn’t want to discuss it.

But it’s out there, impossible to ignore, hovering over the Angels like a dark cloud threatening to put a damper on the optimism surrounding the team. The regular season began Tuesday, and Anderson, a two-time All-Star and the team’s most valuable player the last three seasons, had not been signed to a contract extension.

Angel owner Arte Moreno said in February that securing Anderson beyond 2004 was the team’s “top priority” this spring. Anderson’s agent, Chris Arnold, said over the winter that if a deal had not been struck by the opener, there would be no negotiations during the season.

So, are the Angels in danger of seeing their most productive and consistent hitter go to free agency after this season?

Not if Moreno has anything to say about it.

“The door is wide open,” Moreno said Tuesday, when asked whether negotiations would continue with Anderson, who is in the last year of a four-year deal that will pay him $6.2 million this season. “We don’t shut doors around here. I’m very confident something will get done.”

The sides were about $16 million apart on a four-year deal in February, the Angels offering $40 million and Anderson looking for about $56 million. Then Anderson, who has never been on the disabled list in nine big league seasons, came down with a serious case of biceps tendinitis in his right (non-throwing) shoulder in February.

The Angels seemed a little spooked by an injury that sidelined Anderson for more than two weeks, and negotiations ground to a halt. But once Anderson proves he is sound, negotiations -- despite Arnold’s earlier proclamation -- are expected to pick up this month.

“Our expectations are that Garret will be with us for a long time,” Moreno said. “He’s an All-Star player, and he should be treated that way. He’s still a No. 1 priority.... There I go, painting myself into a corner again.”

Arnold wanted to complete a deal this spring so negotiations wouldn’t distract Anderson or the team during the season, but the Angels don’t seem deterred. They signed Darin Erstad to a four-year extension in August 2000, and they don’t see negotiations with Anderson’s agent as a potential distraction. Nor do Anderson’s teammates.

“It’s not going to be an issue with this team, because Garret won’t make it an issue,” designated hitter Tim Salmon said. “Everybody thought something would get done, and it seemed like the end of spring training was the timetable. We’ll wait and see, but I think it will get done.”

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Bengie Molina, sidelined since last Wednesday because of a strained left hamstring, is available to catch in case of emergency this series, and Manager Mike Scioscia said he expected Molina to return for the series beginning in Texas on Friday.... John Lackey, who struggled with a 9.00 earned-run average this spring, threw 92 pitches Monday in a simulated game at Class A Rancho Cucamonga, giving up one run on three hits and striking out four.

A doctor who examined Angel reliever Brendan Donnelly in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday was pleased with his progress, but the right-hander, who is on the disabled list because of complications stemming from a broken nose, was not cleared for any activity. He will be reexamined next Tuesday.... The Angels had 12 hits Tuesday, including RBI singles by David Eckstein and Darin Erstad in the eighth, but Jose Guillen and Tim Salmon combined to go 0 for 10.