Angels ‘serious’ about trying to sign pitcher C.J. Wilson

Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto and assistant GM Scott Servais had dinner with Bob Garber, the agent for pitcher C.J. Wilson, on Monday night in Milwaukee and talked for three hours. The Angels’ interest in the free-agent left-hander is “serious,” according to a person familiar with the team’s thinking who is not allowed to speak publicly on the topic.

Wilson, who turns 31 this week, played at Fountain Valley High, Santa Ana College and Loyola Marymount. He was 16-7 with a 2.94 earned-run average for the American League champion Texas Rangers and is considered the top pitcher on the market despite a shaky postseason in which he was 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in five starts. He is expected to command a deal of about six years and $100 million.

There is also a chance the Angels could pursue Hiroki Kuroda, the Dodgers right-hander who is also weighing an offer to return to Japan.

—Mike DiGiovanna

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The Angels have signed former big leaguer Hal Morris to a multi-year contract as director of pro scouting. Morris, 46, played for the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers, compiling a .304 batting average. After retiring as a player, Morris joined the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization and scouted amateur players from 2008-2009 before joining the Boston Red Sox in 2010. With the Red Sox, Morris was assigned to evaluate players already in the organization, both on the major and minor league levels.

—Kevin Baxter

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Venezuelan police said that two more suspects have been arrested in the kidnapping of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos and that authorities are searching for several others.

The men, a Colombian and a Venezuelan, were detained Sunday in a car with several other people in the town of Moron, not far from where Ramos was held captive, national investigative police chief Humberto Ramirez said.