Angels unlikely to get Ramirez or LaRoche

The Angels are all but out of the running for Boston slugger Manny Ramirez, and their chances of acquiring Atlanta first baseman Adam LaRoche appeared to fade Tuesday.

General Manager Bill Stoneman and Braves GM John Schuerholz met for the second day in a row, and Schuerholz, who is talking to Pittsburgh about closer Mike Gonzalez, made it clear he doesn’t want to give up his best bargaining chip without getting a pitcher.

The Angels offered utility player Chone Figgins and first baseman Casey Kotchman. The Braves want setup man Scot Shields. The Angels are reluctant to part with pitching, because their organizational depth has thinned considerably in the last year.

“To do something that would deplete our pitching, unless it makes us better, we’re not interested,” Stoneman said.

The Angels have six big league starters, but Bartolo Colon is rehabilitating from a rotator-cuff tear, Kelvim Escobar has had elbow problems, and there is concern that youngsters Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders, whose workload increased significantly last year, might be susceptible to injury.

The talent drops off from there, with triple-A right-hander Dustin Moseley next on the depth chart and one top prospect, Nick Adenhart, at double A or above.

The Angels have a top-notch bullpen, but their minor league relief corps is so thin they will convert one of their top prospects, hard-throwing right-hander Jose Arredondo, to a reliever next season.

“Our pitching depth is a factor” in trade talks, Stoneman said. “If we gave up a pitcher, we would have to get one back.”

Like the Braves, the Red Sox asked the Angels for top-flight relief, either Shields or closer Francisco Rodriguez, so talks for Ramirez quickly fizzled. According to an industry source, the Red Sox would have to go back to the Angels with a different package for the teams to rekindle talks about Ramirez.

“There are still some things that could happen,” Stoneman said, “but some meetings have led to ruling things out.”

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Agent Scott Boras shot down speculation that the Braves were shopping center fielder Andruw Jones. The Angels expressed interest in Jones before acquiring center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., and there was an XM radio report Tuesday that the Braves and Dodgers were discussing a deal for Jones, who has no-trade powers and will be a free agent after 2007.

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Arizona wanted to trade third baseman Chad Tracy to the Angels but talks broke down when the Diamondbacks asked for Saunders.... The Red Sox expressed interest in reliever Brendan Donnelly, a deal the Angels probably would make if they got a decent pitching prospect. If they trade Donnelly, they may look to fill his spot with veteran left-hander Arthur Rhodes.... The Angels have expressed some interest in free-agent first baseman Shea Hillenbrand.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com