Bottenfield

	Edmonds

General manager Bill Stoneman recently said he wouldn't trade Edmonds. Then, he got an offer he couldn't refuse.

"This is something that came together very quickly," Stoneman said from the Angels' spring training headquarters in Tempe, Ariz. "When it started to become apparent that we might be able to fill two of our needs, it was such an attractive deal that it just made a lot of sense to us, and it made sense from the Cardinals' standpoint."

Bottenfield, 31, went 18-7 with a 3.97 ERA last season, and made the NL All-Star team. He entered last year having won just 18 big-league games.

Starting pitching has been a major question mark for the Angels, who lost ace Chuck Finley to the Cleveland Indians via free agency during the offseason. Bottenfield gives them a proven starter.

"He's a guy who found himself (last year), and had been having a good spring training this year," Stoneman said. "The reports on both of these players were outstanding."

Edmonds, 29, hit .250 with five homers and 23 RBI in just 55 games last season after being sidelined until August while recovering from surgery on his right shoulder.

He had a breakout season with the Angels in 1995, hitting .290 with 33 homers and 107 RBI. A left-handed hitter, Edmonds averaged 27 homers a season from 1995-98 and won AL Gold Gloves in both 1997 and '98.

"We had no intention of trading a starting pitcher," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said. "This came up, and when you get an opportunity to get a guy of Edmonds' stature, you can't pass it up."

First-year Angels manager Mike Scioscia acknowledged Edmonds was a proven commodity who had drawn the interest of several teams.

"A talent like Jimmy is not going to be replaced," Scioscia said. "Fortunately for us, I think we have enough guys that can do the job."

Scioscia said Garret Anderson will replace Edmonds in center, and Todd Greene or Scott Spiezio will likely share the team's designated hitter duties. Scioscia also said Kennedy figures in his plans at second base, along with Spiezio.

"I'm very excited about the club with the offense and with the acquisition of Bottenfield," Scioscia said. "This strengthens us in a couple of areas. We knew coming into the spring that we had an extra outfielder that we were going to rotate into the DH spot.

"I think all the way around, it gives us some balance and strengthens our starting pitching."

The Cardinals needed to shore up their outfield, where Eric Davis has been slow to recover from a shoulder injury.

Davis played six innings Thursday in the outfield for the first time, but the team is concerned he is behind, so what they're going to do is open the season with Edmonds in center and move J.D. Drew from center to right. Garrett Stephenson moves into the rotation and takes Bottenfield's spot.

"We thought we might be vulnerable in the outfield a little bit because Eric hadn't played a lot," Jocketty said. "We could have been vulnerable. Now, it should be a strength."

Edmonds will probably bat sixth, where Davis was supposed to bat.

Kennedy, 24, was the Cardinals' minor league player of the year in 1999, and has been touted as one of baseball's top young prospects.

Kennedy played in 33 games for St. Louis last season, hitting .255 with 10 doubles, one homer and 16 RBI. He also played in 91 games for Triple-A Memphis of the Southern Association, hitting .327 with 22 doubles, 10 homers and 63 RBI.

Stoneman said he believes Kennedy is ready to play at the big league level.

"That's a decision to be made by Mike Scioscia and his staff," Stoneman said. "Hopefully, he can arrive quickly, we can put him in some games and take a look at him. We think he's ready."