A-Rod would be welcomed

Some of the Angels read Alex Rodriguez’s comments from Tuesday night, when the Yankees third baseman said, “I want to stay in New York, no matter what,” and they can only hope that between now and November he has a change of heart.

Rodriguez, who is so hot teammate Jason Giambi compared him “to the big kid in Little League,” has an opt-out clause in his contract that would allow him to forgo the $81 million and three years left on his deal to become a free agent this winter.

The Angels have been mentioned prominently as a suitor for Rodriguez, should he become available, and owner Arte Moreno, mindful of baseball’s tampering rules, finds it tough to hide his affection for the 31-year-old who has 478 career home runs.

But those tampering rules don’t apply to players, and the Angels can’t help but salivate at the thought of Rodriguez, who is batting .385 with a major league-leading 14 home runs and 34 runs batted in, in the middle of their order.

“Let me tell you something,” Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera said. “The guys we have now are doing a tremendous job, and I believe they will continue to do a good job, but they’re no comparison to A-Rod.

“This guy is a monster. What team wouldn’t want that guy playing third base or shortstop? If you went to a lab looking to create a baseball player, he’s the player you’d want to create.”

After struggling so much last fall that Manager Joe Torre dropped him to the No. 8 spot in the order for a playoff game against Detroit, Rodriguez, the American League most valuable player in 2003 and 2005, has put up some astonishing numbers in 19 games, including a 1.013 slugging percentage -- not bad for a player who was regularly booed in his own stadium over the last two years.

“He’s a guy who was confused and mentally abused in New York last year,” Cabrera said. “He’s come back, maybe not with a clearer head, but it’s like he’s saying, ‘I don’t [care] anymore.’ He’s just going to do his thing and let his instincts take over.”

*

The Angels were 10-10 after their first 20 games and struggling to find some consistency, having won five of their first six, lost eight of their next nine, and won four of their next five before Wednesday. But they’re encouraged by their 8-4 record against AL West foes Oakland, Texas and Seattle.

“We definitely can do a great job in this division -- we should do a great job,” Cabrera said. “We’re still the team to beat. I expect our team to have a winning season and go to the playoffs. We just have to get back the guys who are hurt and stay healthy. When we have all the weapons in our lineup, we can be tough to beat.”

*

Jered Weaver, whose fastball wasn’t up to speed in Monday’s loss to Detroit, when he was rocked for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings, threw his regular between-starts bullpen session Wednesday and said he “felt fine physically.” Weaver was slowed this spring by shoulder tightness and opened the season on the disabled list.

“Obviously, my velocity was not there and I had to battle” Monday, said Weaver, who is 0-2 after winning his first nine decisions of 2006. “I didn’t know where the ball was going ... and I wasn’t fooling anybody. I don’t think dead arm is an issue. Everything came out good today.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com