The Angels made a flurry of moves Tuesday, signing free-agent right-hander Paul Byrd to a one-year, $5-million contract, trading disgruntled pitcher Ramon Ortiz to the Cincinnati Reds for pitching prospect Dustin Moseley and designating for assignment reserve infielder Alfredo Amezaga.
But the bold move General Manager Bill Stoneman believes will have a significant effect on his rotation could come later this week, because the Angels, despite the addition of Byrd, are still in the hunt for free-agent pitcher Matt Clement, the Chicago Cub right-hander who is being seriously pursued by at least seven teams.
Clement is scheduled to be in Southern California either today or Thursday to visit the Angels in Anaheim and the Dodgers in Los Angeles. He was in Arizona meeting Diamondback officials Tuesday and visited Cleveland earlier this month.
"Don't draw any conclusions about the signing of Paul Byrd completing our shopping list," Stoneman said. "We're delighted to have Paul -- he'll be important to our rotation -- but we're not done shopping. We're still talking about pitching out there, and we'll see where it leads."
Stoneman would not comment on Clement, who has received offers from the Angels (three years, $21 million), Toronto Blue Jays (three years, $25 million) and Cleveland Indians (three years, $21 million). The Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Diamondbacks have also expressed significant interest.
If the Angels were to sign Clement they would have six starters -- the others are Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey and Byrd -- and probably would exceed their self-imposed payroll budget of $100 million for 2005.
But according to a baseball source, if the Angels land Clement they would look to trade Washburn, who could make as much as $7 million in arbitration next season, or cut Washburn loose by not tendering the left-hander a contract next week.
"The Angels are still right there," said Barry Axelrod, Clement's agent. "We've had a consistent period of discussion with them. We've told the Angels they can provide their best offer whenever they feel comfortable."
Axelrod said Clement has been trying to narrow his choices, "but every time we think we've eliminated someone, another team comes on board," he said. "It makes it really hard."
If the Angels don't land Clement, it's possible they would re-enter the bidding for Diamondback ace Randy Johnson, offering a package led by Washburn and perhaps first-base prospect Casey Kotchman for the 6-foot-10 left-hander.
