Angels Seeking a First Baseman

Shawn Wooten’s bid to become the Angels’ regular first baseman ended Saturday, at least for the time being, when the team declined to offer the utilityman a contract, making him a free agent.

Several first basemen became available, including Randall Simon and Todd Sears, though the most attractive options may be Robert Fick, Travis Lee and Rafael Palmeiro, players the Angels had already targeted.

“There are a lot of candidates out there now,” Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “We’ll fill this position with someone who is going to help us.”

By declining to offer Wooten a contract Saturday, the team avoided the possibility of doubling his 2003 salary of $337,000 through arbitration.

The Angels could resume negotiations with Wooten, Stoneman said, but only after considering other options at first base.

“There’s a possibility he’ll be back, it just wouldn’t be at the numbers he’d been seeking,” Stoneman said.

The Angels offered contracts to pitchers Jarrod Washburn and Ben Weber and shortstop David Eckstein, making them eligible for arbitration.

After hitting .243 last season with seven home runs and 32 runs batted in as a backup catcher, designated hitter, third baseman and first baseman, Wooten embarked on an off-season training regimen to lose weight and shed his reserve role. He recently reported losing 23 pounds off his 5-foot-10 frame and said he weighed 223.

Wooten, who has career averages of .281 overall and .359 as a pinch-hitter, could not be reached for comment.

The Angels’ only remaining in-house option at first base is Darin Erstad, though there are indications the Angels intend to keep their Gold Glove-winning center fielder in the outfield.

If a switch to first base was made, the Angels could replace Erstad in the outfield with Jay Payton, who became available Saturday when the Colorado Rockies declined to offer him a contract. The Angels could put Payton, who hit .302 with 28 homers and 89 RBIs last season, in left field and move Garret Anderson to center.

Simon appears to be the best first baseman made available Saturday. The player, remembered for bashing a sausage mascot in Milwaukee, became expendable after the Chicago Cubs acquired Derrek Lee. Simon hit .276 with 16 home runs and 72 RBIs last season for Pittsburgh and Chicago.

Sears, who batted .247 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 33 games with Minnesota and San Diego, appears far less desirable than the more established Simon, Fick, Travis Lee and Palmeiro.

Concerns about salary and durability may preclude the Angels from signing Palmeiro, who hasn’t played a full season at first base since 1998, when he appeared in 159 games at the position for the Baltimore Orioles. Palmeiro has split time between designated hitter and first base since then.