TEMPE, ARIZ. — Gary Matthews Jr. looks pretty spry, especially when he's hitting prodigious home runs such as the two-run blast that highlighted the Angels' 10-5 exhibition victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. But the switch-hitting outfielder isn't getting any younger.
"I'm 34, and you don't play forever," said Matthews, who appears fully recovered from off-season surgery to repair the patella tendon in his left knee. "It's not like I'm 24 and have time to sit around and waste years. That's not what I'm going to do."
Matthews, in the third year of a five-year, $50-million contract, said he made that point clear in the "candid conversations" with Manager Mike Scioscia and General Manager Tony Reagins this spring.
Those talks, according to Matthews, have focused on playing time, not on whether he will waive his no-trade clause and request a deal to a team that can guarantee him full-time work.
But the content of those conversations could change if Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera remain ahead of Matthews on the outfield-designated hitter depth chart and Matthews plays sparingly in April.
"I'm ready to get back to playing every day," said Matthews, who hit .242 with eight home runs and 46 runs batted in during an injury-plagued 2008 in which he lost his starting job to Rivera in late June. "Surgery allowed me to get my strength back."
There is one solution to Matthews' problem. He could strong-arm his way into the lineup by hitting the way he has this spring -- he's batting .412 with two homers and eight RBIs in eight games.
"Wow, Junior looks great, doesn't he?" said pitcher Joe Saunders, who gave up four runs and six hits in six innings Tuesday. "That homer he hit today was a bomb."
Matthews, who also doubled and scored on Maicer Izturis' three-run homer, could be an attractive option for teams such as the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox, who are looking for center fielders, though his hefty contract will be difficult to trade.
Asked if he felt as if he were auditioning for other teams, Matthews said, "Aren't we all always auditioning for a job? I'm no different than anyone else."
The Angels love having depth and injury insurance at every position, and after investing two years into Matthews, they would hate to trade him and watch him excel for another team.
