Glaus Might Not Be Back

There is already speculation that Troy Glaus has played his last game as an Angel. There’s a good chance Friday’s shoulder surgery will sideline the third baseman for the rest of this season, and the slugger will be a free agent when his four-year, $23-million contract expires after 2004.

With top third-base prospect Dallas McPherson at double-A Arkansas, the Angels could acquire a third baseman -- free agent Aaron Boone, recovering from knee surgery, is a strong possibility -- this summer and sign him through 2005, giving McPherson a season at triple-A Salt Lake before joining the Angels in 2006.

Glaus’ future at third base -- no matter where he plays next season -- is also in doubt.

Having suffered serious shoulder injuries in 2003 and 2004, it’s becoming more apparent that at 6 feet 5 and 245 pounds, Glaus may not have the body type that can withstand the rigors of third base.

The Angels were already making plans to move the 27-year-old Glaus to first base before he chose to have surgery, and Glaus’ future could be on the other corner of the infield or at designated hitter.

“There’s an inherent risk [in playing third base], but let’s see what we find in surgery,” Glaus said. “I’m coming back with the idea of playing third base.

“That’s my goal. If it doesn’t happen, I’ll have to make adjustments from there.”

He wouldn’t be the first to switch to first. George Brett, a Hall of Fame third baseman, played the last few seasons of his career at first, and Hall of Famers Rod Carew and Paul Molitor moved from the middle-infield positions to first.

“I totally believe he could do that,” bench coach Joe Maddon said of Glaus.

“He’s tall, he’s a good target, he catches the ball well, he has more than adequate power and could supply the prototypical numbers for a first baseman if he played there.”

Maddon believes the determining factor will be how Glaus, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last July in Tampa Bay and re-injured the shoulder April 30 on a similar artificial surface in Minnesota, recovers from surgery.

“If his arm doesn’t come back, he will be relegated to first, and he can do that,” Maddon said.

“If his arm does come back, he’s still very capable of playing third.”

But wouldn’t Glaus better preserve his body and avoid more injuries by switching to the less-demanding first base or DH on a permanent basis?

“That’s hard to say,” Maddon said. “These are kind of freakish injuries -- he falls awkwardly in Tampa Bay and Minnesota and hurts his shoulder twice on the same surface. I don’t think his size should preclude him from playing third. As long as his arm is good, he can do it. But he might want to avoid that [artificial] surface.”

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Catcher Bengie Molina was scratched from Wednesday night’s lineup because of tightness in his right groin, but it’s not as if the Angels lost much behind the plate. Molina’s younger brother, Jose, began the game with a .328 average and led the American League in throwing out nine of 17 base stealers (53%).

Because of Bengie Molina’s nagging hamstring problems, Jose and Bengie have essentially split the catching duties this season, with the pair combining to hit .310 (45 for 145) with nine doubles, five home runs and 27 runs batted in.

They combined to throw out 13 of 36 base-stealers (36%) entering Wednesday, with Jose improving those figures when he threw out Kenny Lofton trying to steal third in the eighth inning and Gary Sheffield trying to steal second in the fourth inning Tuesday night.

Jose then threw out Derek Jeter trying to steal second in the fourth inning Wednesday.