Finding diamonds in rough

If the Angels win the American League West by a game or two, they can thank the free agent who stabilized their starting rotation.

Wait, you might say. The Angels did not sign a starting pitcher in free agency.

We spend all winter chronicling free agency among the millionaires, tracking the bidding for the likes of CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. We don’t follow the much larger pool of minor league free agents, the one in which the Angels landed Matt Palmer and the Dodgers reeled in Ronald Belisario.

It is an intriguing and obscure ritual of winter, the mating dance between teams looking for understudies and spare parts and players looking for second chances, third chances and last chances.

No headlines, no stories, no matter -- not until a guy like Palmer or Belisario shows up, a guy who can’t carry your team into the playoffs but can give you an unexpected nudge toward October.

“It’s a huge part of the process,” said Kim Ng, the Dodgers’ assistant general manager. “Look at any club over the course of the year and how many guys they actually use. It’s not 28 or 29. It’s closer to 40.”

The dance starts when the season ends. Major leaguers file for free agency in an elaborate and highly publicized process. Minor leaguers are dumped into free agency, after six years with their original team, or at any other time thereafter.

In the majors, 171 players filed for free agency last fall, most reasonably assured of a comfortable job somewhere. In the minors, according to Baseball America, 645 players found themselves in search of a job, any job.

“I’ve had some interesting phone calls,” said Tony Reagins, now the Angels’ general manager and formerly their minor league director.

From players and agents, sure. From who else?

“Fathers, grandfathers, mothers, girlfriends, fiances,” Reagins said.

This can be recruiting, in reverse, with players and agents pushing statistical portfolios, pushing highlight reels on video or DVD, just plain pushing.

“We can be talked into somebody,” Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said. “Mostly, we’ve got a good feel for what we need.”

The Dodgers and Angels evaluate every minor league free agent, reviewing scouting reports and ranking players by priority and need. Colletti said the Dodgers target about 30 minor league free agents each year.

The list is not static. Palmer impressed the Angels while pitching in Venezuela over the winter. Belisario pitched there too, catching the eye of visiting Dodgers scout Ron Rizzi.

“It’s about having a scout that wanted to dig through Venezuela and have enough confidence in the player to promote the player,” Colletti said.

“There’s also a residue of fortune. You have to see him at the right point in time.”

This is not about the money, really. The minimum salary in triple A is $2,150 per month, with minor league free agents signing for $5,000 to $15,000 per month. No big league job, no big league salary.

The primary perk is an invitation to spring training with the major league club, the better to catch the eye of a manager that might need reinforcements during the season.

The better players can get an escape clause, enabling them to leave for another team or for Japan if they do not get promoted to the majors by a particular date.

This is about the opportunity, since a minor league contract guarantees nothing but a minor league job.

Belisario said six teams offered him an invitation to spring training, and he chose the Dodgers knowing they had vacancies in their bullpen.

So did 13 other minor league free-agent relievers, none of whom made the team.

Belisario did, even though he never had pitched above double A. He has appeared in 23 games, the most of any rookie in either league.

Palmer chose the Angels, without any apparent opportunity. He reported to spring training no better than ninth on the Angels’ depth chart, but they needed a starter at triple A.

Minor league director Abe Flores called Palmer’s agent early and often, and so did baseball operations staffers Tory Hernandez and Justin Hollander.

“I wanted to go to a team that was high on me,” Palmer said. “If I was going to be stuck in triple A, at least it would be with a team that was going to win and work hard and not go through the motions.”

The Angels called on him only after they lost an entire rotation, after they had put John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Dustin Moseley and Kelvim Escobar on the disabled list, after Nick Adenhart died.

Palmer is 30. He won his first major league game one month ago. If he wins today, he’ll become the second pitcher in club history to win each of his first six starts for the Angels.

The Angels agreed to terms with Palmer at the winter meetings, at the same time the New York Yankees agreed to terms with Sabathia.

Sabathia got $161 million, and a hero’s welcome. Palmer did not even get his name in the fine print.

“He’s Cy Young,” Palmer said. “I’m a nobody.”

You never know. Sabathia has four victories this season. Palmer has five, and the heartfelt gratitude of the Angels.

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com