Johnson Still on Moreno’s Radar

Three days after vowing not to plunder his team’s talent-rich minor league system to acquire Randy Johnson, Angel owner Arte Moreno on Friday said he remained interested in the Arizona Diamondback ace, perhaps indicating that the Angels would be willing to trade a package of major leaguers for the five-time Cy Young Award winner.

“Anybody and everybody would love to have him on their team,” Moreno said. “If the baseball people make the decision that that’s something that fits into what we want to do, [General Manager Bill] Stoneman has that latitude.”

Moreno also dismissed speculation that his relationship with Diamondback owner Jerry Colangelo, which has been characterized as strained, might preclude the teams from completing a trade. Moreno, a former minority owner of the Diamondbacks, and Colangelo remain partners in a theater in Phoenix and sat next to each other recently at a dinner with President Bush.

“We have a casual relationship,” Moreno said. “We see each other at social functions and always say hello.”

The Diamondbacks have dispatched scouts to evaluate the top prospects of several teams, including the Angels, and are believed to be interested in the Angels’ Dallas McPherson, Jeff Mathis and Casey Kotchman, who is expected to be sidelined another week with a sore wrist.

A more realistic trade scenario, given the parameters established by Moreno, would involve a package of two or more of the Angels’ less experienced major league players such as Scot Shields, Brendan Donnelly and John Lackey.

Yet, a trade involving Johnson does not appear imminent and might never materialize. Alan Nero, one of Johnson’s agents, said that as of Friday afternoon the Diamondbacks had not asked Johnson to waive his no-trade clause.

“I wouldn’t be shocked if the Diamondbacks in the end decided they didn’t want to trade him because they didn’t want to trade him in the first place,” Nero said.

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Designated hitter Tim Salmon did not start for a third consecutive game but was available despite an irritated left shoulder. Manager Mike Scioscia said the shoulder, which necessitated an MRI exam on Monday that revealed some wear, should not hamper Salmon’s productivity.