It’s a Busy Shopping Day for Angels

The Angels made a flurry of moves Tuesday, signing free-agent right-hander Paul Byrd to a one-year, $5-million contract, trading disgruntled pitcher Ramon Ortiz to the Cincinnati Reds for pitching prospect Dustin Moseley and designating for assignment reserve infielder Alfredo Amezaga.

But the bold move General Manager Bill Stoneman believes will have a significant effect on his rotation could come later this week, because the Angels, despite the addition of Byrd, are still in the hunt for free-agent pitcher Matt Clement, the Chicago Cub right-hander who is being seriously pursued by at least seven teams.

Clement is scheduled to be in Southern California either today or Thursday to visit the Angels in Anaheim and the Dodgers in Los Angeles. He was in Arizona meeting Diamondback officials Tuesday and visited Cleveland earlier this month.

“Don’t draw any conclusions about the signing of Paul Byrd completing our shopping list,” Stoneman said. “We’re delighted to have Paul -- he’ll be important to our rotation -- but we’re not done shopping. We’re still talking about pitching out there, and we’ll see where it leads.”

Stoneman would not comment on Clement, who has received offers from the Angels (three years, $21 million), Toronto Blue Jays (three years, $25 million) and Cleveland Indians (three years, $21 million). The Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Diamondbacks have also expressed significant interest.

If the Angels were to sign Clement they would have six starters -- the others are Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey and Byrd -- and probably would exceed their self-imposed payroll budget of $100 million for 2005.

But according to a baseball source, if the Angels land Clement they would look to trade Washburn, who could make as much as $7 million in arbitration next season, or cut Washburn loose by not tendering the left-hander a contract next week.

“The Angels are still right there,” said Barry Axelrod, Clement’s agent. “We’ve had a consistent period of discussion with them. We’ve told the Angels they can provide their best offer whenever they feel comfortable.”

Axelrod said Clement has been trying to narrow his choices, “but every time we think we’ve eliminated someone, another team comes on board,” he said. “It makes it really hard.”

If the Angels don’t land Clement, it’s possible they would re-enter the bidding for Diamondback ace Randy Johnson, offering a package led by Washburn and perhaps first-base prospect Casey Kotchman for the 6-foot-10 left-hander.

Because the Angels budgeted about $2.5 million for Ortiz, the signing of Byrd, who received a $500,000 signing bonus and will make $4.5 million in 2005, resulted in an addition of about $2.5 million to the 2005 payroll.

In Byrd, the Angels added an injury-plagued 34-year-old whose career could be on an upswing after what appears to be a full recovery from ligament-replacement surgery on his pitching elbow in 2003.

The 6-1, 190-pounder, who missed the 2003 season, returned last June and went 8-7 with a 3.94 earned-run average in 19 starts for the Atlanta Braves.

The velocity of Byrd’s fastball, normally in the 85-mph range, jumped to the 89-mph range with more sinking action and passed 90 mph at times, and Byrd showed good command of his pitches.

“I feel better than 100%,” said Byrd, who has a 60-53 record and 4.33 ERA. “When they did the surgery, they said I had a hole in my ligament for quite some time. At the end of last season, I felt like I was 18 again. I’m looking forward to being healthy all the way through.”

Byrd, who has been on the disabled list seven times and has made more than 16 starts a year only three times in nine big league seasons, said he chose Anaheim over Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta, Kansas City and the Dodgers.

“I felt the Angels had the best chance to win the World Series, and this was the best place for my family,” said Byrd, who lives in Georgia with his wife and two sons, ages 8 and 7. “I’m very excited about coming out there. Anaheim was the total package for me.”

Anaheim and Ortiz were a total mismatch for most of 2004, a season in which the Dominican right-hander, who was compared to a young Pedro Martinez earlier in his career, was demoted from the rotation to the bullpen in early May and asked for a trade by June.

But in Cincinnati, Ortiz, who has a 59-49 record and 4.60 ERA, will get back what he lost in 2004: a rotation spot.

“His resume and track record speak for themselves,” Red General Manager Dan O’Brien said of Ortiz, 31. “He’s going to be a significant upgrade in our pitching rotation. We’re delighted to have him.”

Moseley, who turns 23 on Dec. 26, went a combined 5-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts for double-A Chattanooga and triple-A Louisville last season.

The slick-fielding but light-hitting Amezaga was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Byrd. If he is not traded in the next 10 days and clears waivers, the Angels can send him to triple A.