Team Mulls Salmon’s Fate

Tim Salmon is beginning to come to grips with the possibility that major surgeries on his left shoulder and left knee could end his career after 12 years. Thursday, Salmon’s teammates began to ponder the possibility of a future without the veteran outfielder.

“It would be weird, because he’s been here since day one when I got here,” first baseman Darin Erstad said. “He’s been that rock in right field, one of those guys you can always count on every day. He was under the radar because he didn’t make an All-Star game, but he carried us in the second half for quite a few years.”

Salmon, 36, is the franchise’s all-time leader in home runs (290) and runs batted in (989). He averaged 28 homers and 94 RBIs in his first eight big league seasons and had a career year in 1997, when he hit .296 with 33 homers and 129 RBIs.

Injuries limited Salmon this season to 60 games, in which he hit .253 with two homers and 23 RBIs. There is a good chance the medical procedures he will undergo over the next three months will sideline him next season, as well as this season.

“He’s been a cornerstone for more than 10 years,” closer Troy Percival said. “He’s been the main offensive producer for maybe seven of those years and a big contributor in all of those years, at a time when the organization was not that good, and he was holding it all together.”

Salmon, whose four-year, $40-million contract expires after 2005, also has been a fan favorite in Anaheim his entire career, a player who did not seek the limelight and who was candid with the media without being controversial.

“He’s kind of like Gene Autry was, a quiet force in the background who gives you stability,” bench coach Joe Maddon said. “He was a quiet leader who avoided the spotlight. When I think of him, I’ll think of consistency.”

Salmon endured his share of heartbreak in Anaheim. He was on the 1995 team that blew an 11-game early-August lead and lost to Seattle in a one-game playoff for the American League West title, and the 1997, 1998 and 2000 teams that were in playoff contention before fading in September.

But Salmon also was a key member of the 2002 team that won the Angels’ first World Series, hitting .286 with 22 homers and 88 RBIs that season and .346 with two homers and five RBIs in the World Series against San Francisco.

“At his age, you know the end is going to come eventually,” Percival said. “But the fact we won the World Series and he was such a huge part of it should definitely put him more at peace when he looks back at what he’s done.”

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The Angels added depth to their overworked bullpen Thursday, selecting the contract of right-hander Scott Dunn from triple-A Salt Lake. To make room on the 40-man roster for Dunn, the Angels transferred Salmon to the 60-day disabled list.... Red Sox first baseman David Ortiz sat out Thursday night’s game because of a sore right shoulder.

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ON DECK

Opponent -- Cleveland Indians, three games.

Site -- Jacobs Field, Cleveland.

TV -- Channel 30 today and Saturday; ESPN Sunday night.

Radio -- KSPN (710), KTNQ (1020).

Records -- Angels 75-58, Indians 67-68.

Record vs. Indians -- 1-5.

Tonight, 4 PDT -- Kelvim Escobar (8-9, 4.05) vs. Scott Elarton (3-3, 4.70).

Saturday, 4 p.m. -- Jarrod Washburn (10-5, 4.83) vs. Jason Davis (2-6, 6.00).

Sunday, 5 p.m. -- John Lackey (11-11, 5.12) vs. Jake Westbrook (12-6, 3.42).