Deadline Passes; Weaver Probably Won’t Join Team

The mother of first-round pick Jered Weaver said the family was “shocked” by the Angels’ ultimatum that Weaver accept a $4-million signing offer by midnight Wednesday or lose it, a hard-line tactic that led to a collapse in negotiations between the team and the former Long Beach State ace.

Agent Scott Boras, who was seeking an $8-million deal, rejected the Angel offer, and Weaver may be available in the June 7 draft, a prospect that doesn’t seem to faze the Angels, who would lose the rights to one of college baseball’s dominant pitchers in 2004.

“You think everything is going along fine, then they throw this ultimatum at you and give you [two days] to make a decision?” Gail Weaver said Thursday. “That was quite a shock. It’s very disappointing. I don’t think they tried hard enough.

“I told [Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman] from the beginning that if they treated Jered fairly, he’d be an Angel, and they didn’t treat Jered fairly. That’s it.”

Stoneman called the latest offer “very fair,” noting that it was near the top of the market. Weaver was given the option of a $4-million bonus in a minor league deal or a major league deal for about $5.25 million spread over five years.

“We’ve made him the best offer of any attractive [draft pick] of the last couple of years, and obviously that’s not good enough,” Angel owner Arte Moreno said.

Manager Mike Scioscia expressed disappointment that Wednesday night’s deadline had passed without an agreement but said the Angels, who opened Cactus League play with a 9-8 loss to the San Francisco Giants, had enough pitching depth in their organization to absorb Weaver’s loss.

“He’s going to have a good career, and unfortunately it’s not going to be with us,” Scioscia said of Weaver. “But we’re moving on. We have a lot of young pitchers that are talented, and we’re going to keep going.”

Stoneman said that if the Angels lost Weaver, they would receive a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds as compensation.

“While that’s not the 12th pick,” Stoneman said, referring to Weaver’s draft spot, “it’s still going to be a good player.”

One reason the Angels balked at Weaver’s steep asking price is that they believe they have two promising pitching prospects in camp. Ervin Santana, a 22-year-old right-hander who was slowed by shoulder problems last season, is back to full strength, his fastball touching 95 mph and his slider and changeup improving.

And Steven Shell, a 21-year-old right-hander who was 12-7 with a 3.59 earned-run average and 190 strikeouts in 165 1/3 innings for Class A Rancho Cucamonga last season, is mixing a 94-mph fastball with a good overhand curve. Shell gave up two runs in two innings Thursday in his spring debut.

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San Francisco turned a two-out, bases-empty walk into a two-run rally during the ninth inning of its victory over the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Vladimir Guerrero stroked a two-run double, and Casey Kotchman had a two-run single for the Angels.

John Lackey, suffering from a scrape on his forefinger, surrendered three runs on a walk and four consecutive singles in his only inning.

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Kendry Morales, the Cuban defector whose journey to the U.S. has been delayed by paperwork in the Dominican Republic, is expected to arrive in Angel camp Monday or Tuesday, and there’s an outside chance he could travel to Arizona today.

“Everything is in place now,” John DiManno, an accountant who has been handling Morales’ affairs, told Assocated Press in Santo Domingo on Thursday. “Everything has been taken care of except for one paper, which has been promised to us [today]. If we get that paper, Kendry will travel [today]. If we don’t, he’ll have to wait until Monday to travel to the U.S.”

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Shortstop Orlando Cabrera, still developing strength in his throwing arm, played designated hitter and probably will continue to do so for the next couple of days.... Kelvim Escobar threw all of his pitches during a 12-minute bullpen session and remained on track to pitch in a game by March 15.