Help from above? Angels' non-trade looking good right about now

"To a degree, yes," first-year general manager Tony Reagins said not long before Adenhart replaced Lackey for Saturday's start against Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks. "Over the course of the season, so many things can happen -- especially with pitching.

"We just thought that it was important to keep depth so that when these types of things crept up, we'd be able to absorb them."

Remember the days last winter when a stacked Angels' rotation went seven, eight deep?

Back in November and December, in the aftermath of acquiring Jon Garland from the White Sox for shortstop Orlando Cabrera, the Angels had starting pitchers in bunches, just like the Rally Monkey's bananas.

Lackey, Escobar, Garland, Jered Weaver, Santana, lefty Joe Saunders and Dustin Moseley, for starters.

When the Marlins demanded Santana in the Cabrera talks, the Angels were game. He was disappointing last year, going 7-14 with a 5.76 ERA, and he was tattooed on the road (1-10, 8.38 ERA).

But the Marlins wanted second baseman Howie Kendrick as the centerpiece of an extensive package. Catcher Jeff Mathis, too, along with a couple of pitchers. They wanted Adenhart, and they liked Nick Green as well.

The Angels would have dealt outfielder Reggie Willits and one pitcher, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. But not Santana and Adenhart. Finally, the Angels pulled Kendrick out of the talks, and they were finished.

Today, with Lackey (19-9, AL-leading 3.01 ERA in 2007) and Escobar (18-7, 3.40 ERA) on the shelf and Seattle starting to look really good in the AL West with the Erik Bedard-Felix Hernandez one-two punch, the Angels are definitely going to need Santana. With both Lackey and Escobar out, they also may need Adenhart.

Manager Mike Scioscia said Saturday that Dustin Moseley, who was 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in eight starts last season for the Angels (4-3, 4.40 in 46 games overall), is the next leading candidate to ascend into the rotation. Adenhart, 21, who was rattled around Saturday in surrendering three runs and four hits in four innings, could be next.

Suddenly, the once insignificant names are on deck to play a significant role for the Angels. An early-to-mid May return for Lackey and Escobar is the best-case scenario. By the time Lackey rebuilds his arm strength and completes a minor league rehabilitation assignment, it isn't completely out of the question that it may be June before he returns.

"It's obviously big when you lose a guy who brings as much as John does," Scioscia said. "Not only when he's pitching, but on the periphery. Setting a tone. Hopefully, he'll be stronger and able to have an impact on what our pitching staff needs to do."

Suddenly, Weaver appears to be in line to make the opening day start that once was earmarked for Lackey, the ace of the club who at one point this winter looked primed to roll through the AL West virtually unchallenged.

"It would be great, but it wouldn't be the same feeling as if you knew you earned it," Weaver said. "John's our No. 1 guy. You work off of what he does. It would be a great thing for myself if it's me, but you know in the back of your head that John deserves it.

"Knowing it should be his day would take away from it."

"It's no fun," Lackey said. "It's definitely not where I want to be. I'll have to work hard to get my body stronger. It might even be a blessing if I'm stronger at the end of the season."

Whether the Angels have bet on the right young pitchers is another question entirely. Right now, there's little choice but to go with what they've got -- forget, for now, free agents such as Jeff Weaver, Freddy Garcia and Eric Milton, they say -- and roll the dice.

However much Miguel Cabrera looked like a no-brainer earlier this winter, now, with words like "concerned" and "magnetic resonance imaging test" rolling around, the Angels are thankful that they've at least got some options on the mound.

"So far it looks like a pretty good move," Reagins said. "We're not even out of spring training yet, and we have two significant setbacks."