ANGELS NOTEBOOK: ANGELS CLOSE IN ON CLEMENT.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - With the market for starting pitchers thinning, the Angels are the heavy favorites to come to terms with free-agent right-hander Matt Clement, who by next week could agree to a three-year contract worth $7 million to $9 million a season.

Angels general manager Bill Stoneman called Saturday's developments at baseball's winter meetings productive and said it ``appears we'll have an opportunity to get something done'' with a free-agent starting pitcher, ``in an area (financially) we expected to get it done.''

The Angels also have expressed significant interest in free-agent left- hander Ron Villone, a source said, but it could take a two-year deal to land the Seattle Mariners reliever.

Clement, 30, went 9-13 with a 3.68 ERA for the Chicago Cubs, but he has a power arm that the Angels typically covet, and he held opposing batters to a .229 average last season.

Barry Axelrod, Clement's agent, said up to eight teams have expressed interest. The final four are expected to be the Angels, Dodgers, Cleveland and Arizona. The Dodgers and St. Louis regard Clement as a fallback if they don't acquire Oakland ace Tim Hudson, and the Angels are expected to trump what Cleveland could offer financially.

Axelrod said the Angels have outlined the parameters of an initial offer.

``Teams day after day have been dropping out of this,'' said Axelrod, who left the meetings Saturday night and said he expects Clement to sign by the end of next week. ``In the endgame, the teams in this are teams willing to spend money. We haven't gotten down to specifics, but (the Angels are) attractive. (Clement) loves it. He loves every part of Southern California.''

Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro and Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi said Saturday they had interest but had not heard recently from Axelrod. With the Yankees agreeing to a four-year deal with Carl Pavano worth $38 million to $40 million, and middle-tier free agents going for three years and $21 million to $24 million, the Angels can easily trump those clubs financially.

``The market seems to change every day,'' Ricciardi said. ``And I know they have more money than us.'' Even for a pitcher with a 69-75 career record.

--Back in left: Just before the Angels finalized their two-year deal with Finley, Stoneman called Garret Anderson to inform him he'd be moving from center field back to left field. He said the normally reticent Anderson was excited about the acquisition.

--Beltran vs. Guerrero: Could the Angels really pay Carlos Beltran a dollar more than Vladimir Guerrero? It's another reason why the club didn't pursue the free agent, whose average salary will exceed Guerrero's $14 million.

``What he did was what we expected,'' Stoneman said. ``It won him an MVP award. It's not like he won that MVP by hitting 50 points higher than he normally does.''

Guerrero has been working out in the Dominican Republic and plans to play some winter ball there. Stoneman would prefer he wouldn't, but there is not a clause in his contract to prevent it.

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com