Angels’ former free agents get more contract time elsewhere

The Angels made lucrative contract offers to John Lackey and Chone Figgins last winter and had substantive talks with the agents for Vladimir Guerrero and Darren Oliver, but they were unable to retain any of the four free agents.

The common thread in negotiations: The Angels lost each player because they were unwilling to add an extra year to their offers, in the form of guaranteed years for Lackey and Figgins and option years for Guerrero and Oliver.

Lackey signed a five-year, $82.5-million deal with Boston; the Angels offered four years, $60 million. Figgins signed a four-year, $36-million deal with Seattle that has an easy-to-attain $9-million vesting option; the Angels offered three years, $24 million.

Guerrero ($6.5 million) and Oliver ($3.5 million) signed one-year deals with Texas, but each received option years, and both veterans were seeking two-year deals in negotiations with the Angels.

Most teams, even those with high payrolls, have been looking to shorten contracts to reduce financial exposure, but Angels General Manager Tony Reagins said he was under no orders from owner Arte Moreno to do so.

“There was no directive from Arte,” Reagins said. “You have to evaluate the market. You look at the player, the age of the player, the projected productivity of a player over time and make your call. Some players, you’re willing to extend out for a bit, but some you have to take a longer look at.”

Reunion tour

The Angels faced Lackey in Boston on May 5 and Figgins in Seattle last weekend. They will get their first regular-season look at Guerrero and Oliver when they begin a two-game series in Texas on Monday night.

Guerrero, 35, is batting .336 with seven home runs and 31 runs batted in and is out-hitting his successor, Hideki Matsui, another 35-year-old who is batting .241 with five homers and 19 RBIs.

“I felt he would be productive in that park,” Reagins said of Guerrero, who was limited by injuries to 100 games last season. “He’s healthy, which is important. He’s a very talented player, a very prideful player, and I thought he’d be successful. I wish him the best over there.”

Texas and Guerrero were a natural fit. Guerrero is a .395 career hitter with 20 homers and 52 RBIs at the Ballpark in Arlington, and he’s batting .397 with six homers and 19 RBIs there this season, compared to a .262 average, one homer and 12 RBIs on the road.

“Vlad hit well in a lot of parks,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “But in that park, he was something special.”

Turning point

Scioscia would not call Scott Kazmir’s start against the Rangers on Monday night “pivotal,” but it could determine the left-hander’s immediate future with the Angels.

If Kazmir, who is 2-3 with a 6.82 earned-run average, shows no signs of progress, the Angels will probably look to remove him from the rotation temporarily so he can iron out his mechanical problems.

Kazmir, who is averaging five innings and a little more than 100 pitches a start, has been trying to regain the feel for his slider, an out-pitch for him in 2006 and 2007 but a non-factor this season.

He is also trying to return to a more over-the-top delivery. He has drifted toward a three-quarter arm slot, which has caused him to lose his release point at times.

“The only thing ‘pivotal’ would be if a guy needs to work on something, you would give him some time to do that,” Scioscia said. “Scott is a young veteran with a lot of upside. He doesn’t have to reinvent himself. He just has to get back in tune with some things.”

Wilson back from DL

The Angels activated catcher Bobby Wilson from the 15-day disabled list after the game and optioned catcher Ryan Budde back to triple-A Salt Lake.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com