Don’t Lose Sight of Glaus, Percival

Laser surgery may have provided Troy Glaus and Troy Percival with a clearer perspective on the 2004 season, but both are aware that their ongoing status as the Angel third baseman and closer hinges primarily on the vision of Arte Moreno and Bill Stoneman.

After all, Moreno’s four-year, $48-million commitment to Garret Anderson as a prelude to the opening-night celebration in Anaheim was no more an optical illusion than was his $146-million shopping spree of the winter.

In turning a priority into reality with his justifiable retention of the homegrown Anderson, who will actually earn $59 million if the Angels pick up the fifth-year option, Moreno has already earmarked a potential $67.5 million to 10 players in 2005.

Do the homegrown Glaus and Percival, both eligible for free agency when the ’04 season ends, fit the bankbook and blueprint?

Are they next on the priority list, or at some point in this business plan and at some positions on the roster do the owner and general manager move in another direction -- financially and otherwise?

The two Troys say they have no clue, and Moreno wasn’t offering any other than to say, yes, he has some money left, but no, there’s been no decision on whether any of it will go to the third baseman and closer.

“Garret was the priority from day one,” Moreno said. “We really haven’t moved down the line yet.”

At 34, with 285 career saves after preserving a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, Percival said he couldn’t argue with Moreno’s priority.

“Whether he brings me back or not,” Percival said, “what Arte is doing here is great for the organization, and extending Garret is as big as anything he’s done. It doesn’t do any good to bring all those people in if you’re going to let your core unit go.”

Percival, of course, has been a key part of the core. But the only thing the Angels have told agent Paul Cohen regarding a contract beyond this season, he said, was that they want to wait and see whether he’s healthy after last year’s physical problems.

“What are you going to do?” Percival said. “It’s only fair after being down for a little bit last year that I have to prove I’m healthy, and to this point they know I am.

“I keep reading that I’ve lost some velocity, but I don’t think so. I can’t throw 98 like Bartolo [Colon], but I can still throw 95.”

Percival is in the last year of a two-year, $16-million extension that pays him $7.5 million this year. New York Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, who is also 34 and who also began this season with 283 saves, recently received a two-year, $21-million extension.

Believing he can pitch five or six more years and willing to settle for three, Percival said he would take a lesser contract to remain in Anaheim -- providing the discount was reasonable -- over a four-year contract elsewhere, but the Angels may think this is a place where they can produce a significant saving by moving Francisco Rodriguez into the closer role.

“Right now,” Percival said, “Frankie has the stuff to close, but it’s a matter of learning to do the job. There’s a lot of difference pitching the ninth inning than the eighth.

“He has plenty of years to do it when I’m done. Of course, the Angels may choose for me to be done quicker than I think I’m done, and I wouldn’t want to stay if I’m not the closer. I mean, there are 30 closers in the major leagues, and I don’t think I can come up with many who are any better than me.”

Although Rodriguez represents a comparatively inexpensive alternative for Percival, it isn’t clear who would replace Glaus unless it’s the touted Dallas McPherson, who at 23 has not even played a full season at double A.

Glaus is 27 and earning $9.5 million in the final year of a four-year, $22-million contract. Although his plate discipline has frustrated the Angels at times, how do they replace the power and potential?

His 164 homers and 473 runs batted in during roughly 4 1/2 seasons prior to 2004 are comparable if not better than those of another third baseman, Eric Chavez, who recently received a six-year, $66-million contract from the Oakland A’s.

“Different places, different numbers,” Glaus said, meaning it’s difficult to compare, and he has no idea what number he would throw out if the Angels asked him to start negotiations, which they haven’t.

“I’d be happy to listen,” he said, “but I can’t make an offer to myself. We’ve yet to have a conversation, but that’s their prerogative.

“There’s nothing I can do, and I’m not going to sit and worry about it. I’m under contract for this year, and I’m going to do everything I can to help the Angels get back to the World Series.”

On another day of high finance in Anaheim, Glaus and Percival were left to applaud the extension for Anderson and left to join the capacity crowd at Angel Stadium in its salute to Moreno as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

At the earlier Anderson news conference, the Angel owner had reflected on his nonstop series of moves, on and off the field.

Almost all have received overwhelming approval, and he said, “The bomb will drop eventually. I’ll take a wrong turn sometime.”

The $48-million signing of a hitter and run producer who ranks among baseball’s best and is one of the Angels’ own demonstrated that Moreno is still on the right road.

How it plays out for Glaus and Percival isn’t clear, even with perfect eyesight.