Morales Could Be on the Way

The Angels are cautiously optimistic that Kendry Morales could be on his way to the United States within days.

“Hopefully, we’ll have some good news by the end of the week,” Tony Reagins, the Angels’ minor league director, said Monday.

Morales defected from Cuba last summer and moved to the Dominican Republic. The Angels signed him to a six-year contract in December, with a $3-million bonus that he already has cashed, but he has missed all of spring training and the start of the minor league season while awaiting clearance to travel to the U.S.

Baseball’s draft does not extend to the Dominican Republic, so Morales declared himself a free agent by moving there instead of to the U.S. But Dominicans need a visa to work in the U.S., and a passport must be presented when applying for the visa.

Dominican citizenship is a prerequisite to obtaining a passport. Reagins said Morales has been approved for Dominican citizenship, although the paperwork still is being processed.

Reagins said he and General Manager Bill Stoneman work on the issue daily, in consultation with Angel scouts based in the Dominican Republic, officials from the Major League Baseball office there and lawyers representing Morales.

“I’m hearing we’re in the final stages,” Reagins said. “Things are looking like they’re headed in the right direction. We think we’re close -- but, every time we say we’re close, we get another hurdle to overcome.”

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In a year in which the Angels have sold a record number of season tickets, they have discontinued one of the popular benefits previously available to buyers of season-seat packages. The Angels no longer offer autograph sessions limited to season-ticket holders.

“That’s why we had fan fest,” spokesman Tim Mead said.

The previous autograph sessions were restricted to a short pregame window, he said, so few fans could get all the signatures they wanted. As an alternative, Mead said, the Angels provided season-ticket customers with free admission to the February fan festival, where many, but not all, players were available in windows scattered over two days.

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ON DECK

Opponent -- New York Yankees, three games.

Site -- Yankee Stadium.

TV -- Channel 9 tonight and Thursday, FSN West Wednesday.

Radio -- 710, 1020.

Records -- Angels 11-8, Yankees 8-11.

2004 record vs. Yankees -- 5-4.

Tonight, 4 PDT -- Bartolo Colon (3-1, 2.60) vs. Carl Pavano (1-2, 2.86).

Wednesday, 4 p.m. -- Jarrod Washburn (0-0, 4.07) vs. Mike Mussina (1-1, 4.50).

Thursday, 4 p.m. -- John Lackey (1-1, 6.64) vs. Kevin Brown (0-2, 8.25).