Angels’ Mike Scioscia wants more pitching

Reporting from Dallas — General Manager Jerry Dipoto is pursuing numerous free-agent and trade possibilities for the rotation, bullpen and offense, but Angels Manager Mike Scioscia made it very clear during the winter meetings Tuesday what his preference is: He wants more pitching.

Asked if he had to pick between adding a starting pitcher such as C.J. Wilson and a slugger such as third baseman Aramis Ramirez Scioscia, who already has top-flight starters in Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, chose the pitcher.

“I know you look at Weav, Haren and Santana and it sounds like you’re getting greedy, but you need five guys going out there during the season to give you a chance to win,” Scioscia said. “Right now, we might have an incredible playoff rotation, but you need a full rotation to give yourself that opportunity to get into the playoffs.”

Scioscia’s answer is significant because Dipoto has $15 million to $20 million to spend while staying within owner Arte Moreno’s $140-million 2012 budget, so barring a trade to shed payroll, the Angels can afford either a high-end pitcher or hitter — but not both.

Bob Garber, the agent for Wilson, confirmed that he had a lengthy meeting with the Angels on Monday night, and there is a growing sense at the winter meetings that the Angels have emerged as the front-runners for the left-hander.

Garber met with the Miami Marlins on Tuesday and later had dinner with Texas GM Jon Daniels, who is trying to retain the Rangers’ ace.

Wilson, 31, has only been a starter for two seasons, combining for 427 innings and a 16-7 record with a 2.94 earned-run average in 34 starts in 2011 and a 15-8 record with a 3.38 ERA in 33 starts in 2010. He threw 2802/3 innings as a reliever from 2005 to 2009.

That low mileage makes a five-year deal for Wilson seem like less of a risk.

“I like the fact that this isn’t a guy who’s sitting on 1,300, 1,400 innings coming into a free-agent year, as opposed to a guy who has primarily been a starter,” Scioscia said.

Kendrys Morales update

Scioscia was so confident Kendrys Morales would recover from 2010 surgery for a fractured left ankle that he declared last winter that the first baseman would be “a full-go” for spring training in 2011.

Instead, Morales suffered numerous setbacks and underwent surgery in June that knocked him out for the entire season.

Morales has resumed light jogging on a treadmill and is taking batting practice in Arizona, but when asked about the slugger’s rehabilitation Tuesday, Scioscia was conservative in his response.

“I have not seen him run yet, but swinging in the cage, everything looks good,” Scioscia said. “I think that last year we had such a confidence that he was coming back that I think we want to just tread lightly on this one and make sure that he’s [far] along before you start to get excited about it.”

Morales, who in 2009 hit .306 with 34 home runs and 108 runs batted in, is not expected to begin aggressive workouts and full baseball activities until January, and the Angels won’t know until deep into spring training whether he’ll be able to play in 2012.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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