Stoneman’s Bid for Tejada Undeterred

Bartolo Colon’s elbow injury and Kelvim Escobar’s balky elbow could put a crimp in the Angels’ efforts to add an impact bat before Monday’s trade deadline, but General Manager Bill Stoneman remains in serious negotiations with the Baltimore Orioles in an effort to acquire slugger Miguel Tejada.

A team official would not confirm or deny a FoxSports.com report Friday night that the Angels had offered right-hander Ervin Santana and triple-A shortstop Erick Aybar for Tejada, but there appears to be some substance to the report, despite the Angels’ lack of pitching depth.

Both the Orioles and the Washington Nationals, who are shopping Alfonso Soriano, want at least one major league-ready pitcher.

With Colon, who left Wednesday’s game after one inning because of an irritated elbow, and Escobar, who has elbow discomfort, uncertain, it seems unlikely the Angels would deal Santana, John Lackey, Jered Weaver or even triple-A left-hander Joe Saunders, unless they have another deal in place for a starting pitcher.

The Angels were hoping to package Saunders in a trade for a hitter, but Saunders is expected to start Tuesday in place of Colon, who appears headed for the disabled list. Colon is taking anti-inflammatory medication and will be reevaluated after throwing Sunday.

“With Bart where he is and Kelvim coming back from a tender elbow, we want to make sure our pitching depth is at a level where it needs to be,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It doesn’t rule out us moving someone, but you have to be comfortable with the pitching depth in the organization.”

That depth drops off dramatically after Saunders. Their next-best prospect is Nick Adenhart, a hard-throwing, 19-year-old right-hander who has already been promoted this season from Class-A Cedar Rapids to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he is 3-1 with a 4.55 earned-run average in five games.

The Orioles are interested in Adenhart, because he grew up in Silver Spring, Md., where he was considered one of the top high school pitchers in the nation before suffering an elbow injury in 2004, and because he projects as a front-of-the-rotation starter. But they appear determined to get a major league pitcher in any deal for Tejada.

The Angels prefer Tejada over Soriano, because Tejada is under contract through 2009 at an average of $13 million a year and Soriano will become a free agent after the season. The Orioles are also in serious negotiations with the Astros about Tejada.

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Two players the Angels pursued -- Milwaukee slugger Carlos Lee and Cleveland first baseman Ben Broussard -- were dealt to rival American League West teams this week, Broussard to the Seattle Mariners and Lee, a left fielder, to the Texas Rangers on Friday in a six-player deal.

“That’s a great move, man, a great move,” Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera said of the Rangers’ deal. “Every team is doing what it thinks it needs to do to win the World Series. I hope it doesn’t work out for them.”

Scioscia said Lee “was one of the guys on our radar,” though he wouldn’t say how aggressively the Angels pursued him.

“Plenty of clubs would have squeezed that bat into their lineup,” Scioscia said of Lee. “Boston would have. That’s a pretty good bat.”

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With the switch-hitting Figgins batting .235 against left-handers, Scioscia opted for Tim Salmon in the DH spot Friday night against Boston left-hander Jon Lester and moved Rivera to center.