Weaver Deal Homespun

Scott Boras, the agent for first-round pick Jered Weaver, said remaining in Southern California was the biggest factor in Weaver’s decision to end a year-long holdout and accept the Angels’ signing offer of $4 million, less than half of what the former Long Beach State ace originally asked for last June.

Boras also disputed the notion that he lost the negotiation and Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman won, even though Weaver dropped his asking price from $10 million to $8 million to $6 million before signing for a figure the Angels offered in late February and refused to come up from.

“When you talk about victories, he took a lot less money to play in his hometown,” said Boras, who also negotiated Stephen Drew’s five-year, $5.5-million deal with Arizona before Monday night’s deadline to sign 2004 draft picks. “We could have easily said, ‘We want what Stephen Drew got.’ You can see the difference between what is a hometown situation and what isn’t.”

Weaver, the 6-foot-7 right-hander who was 15-1 with a 1.62 earned-run average at Long Beach last season, was traveling from New Jersey to Southern California on Tuesday and was unavailable for comment, but Dodger pitcher Jeff Weaver, Jered’s older brother, said Jered was “very happy” with his decision.

“Now he’s playing for a team in his hometown, and that’s what he wanted,” Jeff Weaver said. “It’s a tough process to go through, but he never had an opportunity to sign until recently.”

Boras said there was a good reason it took nearly a year for Weaver and the Angels to come to terms.

“It was eight months before we got an offer we could talk about,” Boras said. “Economically, he would have better off going back into the draft, but he made a decision to take substantially less to play in his hometown and for an organization he likes. That’s a decision only he can make.”

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Closer Francisco Rodriguez, who had been on the disabled list because of a strained forearm, was activated after Tuesday night’s game, but Manager Mike Scioscia said he plans to be a little more judicious in his use of the right-hander.

“He’ll be able to pitch in back-to-back games, but where you get in trouble is when you go four of five, six of eight, seven of nine,” Scioscia said. “We want to really monitor that.”

Rodriguez declared himself “100% ready” after Monday’s 20-pitch simulated game at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.

“My velocity was there, my breaking pitch was sharp, and I threw strikes,” Rodriguez said. “I could feel the ball jump out of my hand and had late movement. I’m ready to go, to step up and help my teammates.”

Rodriguez had no objection to Scioscia’s plan.

“He’s the boss,” Rodriguez said. “If he wants to be careful, I’m fine with that.”

To make room on the roster for Rodriguez, the Angels optioned reliever Chris Bootcheck to triple-A Salt Lake.

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Right fielder Vladimir Guerrero, out since May 21 because of a partial dislocation of his left shoulder, has been running, throwing, and gaining strength and range of motion in his shoulder, but he is not expected to swing a bat until Monday at the earliest. That means Guerrero probably won’t return until the Angels return to Anaheim on June 13.... Infielder Maicer Izturis, sidelined since April 26 because of a sprained knee ligament, will continue his workouts at Salt Lake on Thursday and will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment there next week.... X-rays confirmed the original diagnosis of a strained right wrist for outfielder Curtis Pride, who was put on the disabled list Monday.

Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report.