An Early Snow-Fall for Angels

An Angel career filled with more peaks and valleys than Yosemite National Park came to an end Wednesday when first baseman J.T. Snow was traded to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Allen Watson and double-A pitcher Fausto Macey.

The deal should bolster the Angel rotation--though Watson, 26, went 8-12 with a 4.61 earned-run average in 1996, General Manager Bill Bavasi believes the left-hander will eventually develop into a No. 1 or 2 caliber starter--but it leaves a gaping hole at first base and, possibly, designated hitter.

Snow was a two-time Gold Glove winner whose steady and often spectacular defensive play saved the Angels numerous runs and teammates numerous errors.

Bavasi said if the season were to start today, outfielder Darin Erstad, who has played three minor league games at first, would be the Angel first baseman. Erstad was expecting to split time between left field and designated hitter next season.

“Every deal you make, you have to prepare like it’s your last, but I’d like to think that won’t be the case,” Bavasi said. “I’m not going to speculate, but I’d like to think we’re not done.”

Could the Angels be clearing room for New York Yankee slugger Cecil Fielder? The teams discussed a potential deal at the general managers’ meetings in Phoenix, the Yankees appear willing to pay at least $2 million of Fielder’s $7.2-million salary, and under baseball’s new labor agreement, the Angels will receive $2.7 million in revenue-sharing funds.

But Bavasi said “there’s no chance we’re going to get [Fielder] right now.” The free-agent pool is thinner than Manute Bol--Eddie Murray and Juan Samuel are the only available first basemen--so the acquisition of another first baseman would likely come through a trade.

Another option would be to move recently acquired third baseman Dave Hollins to first and pursue another third baseman. Boston’s Tim Naehring became a free agent Tuesday, and Texas’ Dean Palmer might be available in a trade. Bavasi said center fielder Jim Edmonds, who played first for several weeks in 1994, could also play some first base.

“When we sent Erstad down [to triple-A Vancouver] last August we had a chance to make a deal for J.T., so we tried Darin at first,” Bavasi said. “All the reports were positive. He’s no J.T., but he was good around the bag, and he’s a good athlete.”

Few in baseball are as good around the bag as Snow, but the switch-hitter’s sporadic offense made him unreliable, and eventually expendable. Snow batted .343 with six homers and 17 RBIs as an Angel rookie in April 1993, but by that July he was back in the minor leagues.

He was nearly traded to the Mets in the spring of 1994. He split the ’94 season between Vancouver and Anaheim, batting .220 in the big leagues.

Snow had a breakthrough season in 1995, batting .289 with 24 homers and 102 RBIs, but he dipped to .257 with 17 homers and 67 RBIs in 1996, grounding into 19 double plays and hitting .199 against left-handers.

Though Snow has two years, at $5.3 million, left on his contract and Watson made $240,000 in 1996--he’s eligible for arbitration this winter--the Angels won’t realize any immediate savings. As part of the deal, the Angels payed a substantial cash sum, believed to be about $900,000, to the Giants.

Watson, who has a 27-33 career record in 3 1/2 seasons with St. Louis and San Francisco, is not overpowering--he struck out 128 in 185 2/3 innings last season--but he has a decent fastball and a sharp curve.

“He’s not a proven guy, but he’s shown some flashes and we like his tools,” Bavasi said. “He’s a guy who has some developing to do, but who can step right into our rotation.”

Angel Notes

Fausto Macey is a 21-year-old right-hander who went 10-7 with a 4.30 ERA for double-A Shreveport in 1996, his fourth year in the Giant organization. He was listed as the Giants’ fifth-best prospect after the 1995 season.

Rod Carew will return as the Angels’ batting instructor next season, and former All-Star players Larry Bowa and Dave Parker have been added to Manager Terry Collins’ staff. Collins also decided to retain bench coach Joe Maddon, who will begin his fourth season on the major league staff and 16th with the organization; Joe Coleman, who will move from pitching coach to bullpen coach; and Mick Billmeyer, the team’s bullpen coordinator.