Candelaria Sidelined Until June : Angel Left-Hander to Have Surgery; Tryout for Forster

The Angels ended what little suspense remained regarding pitcher John Candelaria’s future Tuesday by announcing that he will undergo surgery today to remove bone spurs in his troublesome left elbow.

Candelaria is expected to miss at least two months, a piece of news that leaves the Angels without a left-handed pitcher or many alternatives.

One possible replacement is Terry Forster, a left-handed reliever recently released by the Atlanta Braves. Forster will arrive in Anaheim today for an afternoon tryout. Manager Gene Mauch, General Manager Mike Port and pitching coach Marcel Lachemann will view the proceedings and then decide if Forster is worth adding to the Angel roster.

If signed, Forster’s role apparently would be that of a late-inning reliever and/or set-up man for Donnie Moore. Jim Slaton, who was pressed into duty when Candelaria missed his scheduled start Monday, most likely will remain in the rotation, while Ken Forsch, a starter for much of his career, will stay in the bullpen.

Team orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum will perform the arthoscopic surgery on Candelaria’s elbow. Depending on the severity of the injury, Yocum also may have to remove scar tissue.

“Shock?” Mauch said. “I think it’s been 10 minutes since I said this . . . if I find out tonight that they’re going to do it with an arthroscope and I’ll be without him for two months, I’ll be relieved. It will give him a chance to contribute as much or more than he contributed to us last year.”

Candelaria, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates last August, finished 7-3 with the Angels. During spring training, he made four appearances, two of them without pain. He first pitched March 7, then missed two weeks because of the elbow problem. He pitched on March 21, experienced more discomfort and sat out another week. He then received a cortisone shot and pitched well in his last two spring appearances, against the Padres March 30 and the Dodgers April 4.

But in his first regular-seson start, a game against the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome, Candelaria lasted just two innings and allowed four earned runs and six hits.

Candelaria, who was placed on the 21-day disabled list (retroactive to April 11), was unavailable for comment Tuesday. Reached earlier in the day, his agent and sister, Maria Candelaria said: “He wants to get off to a good start. The timing of this injury isn’t of his liking.

“John’s got a lot of guts, a lot of guts,” she said. “Pain is no stranger to him. He’s played with it all his life. But he can’t work through this. This is not the ordinary, usual pain that he normally experiences.”

Already, the Angels are without infielders Dick Schofield, who still is nursing a groin pull, and Bobby Grich, who jammed his right thumb during Monday’s home opener. Their injuries aren’t considered serious, but both missed Tuesday night’s game against Seattle.

Now comes Candelaria’s surgery, which, while not totally unexpected, presents the Angels with the unenviable task of replacing a veteran left-handed pitcher expected to contribute 30 to 35 starts this season.

The Angels have three options. They can:

--Trade for a pitcher.

--Promote from within the farm system.

--Sign a free agent, such as Forster.

Bill Scherrer, formerly of the Detroit Tigers, has been mentioned as a possible acquisition, though Tiger officials said Tuesday they had no knowledge of any talks or impending deal with the Angels. The Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A team Scherrer now pitches for, said the same thing.

The idea of elevating a pitcher from their farm system appeals to the Angels. The problem is, Port and Mauch each said, there are few real candidates.

That leaves the Angels in the free-agent market, something they reluctantly entered. Even now, Port remains skeptical about Forster.

“Our information is that you should not expect to see too much,” he said.

Just in case, Port and Forster’s agent, Mark Polan, have come to tentative contract terms, contingent, of course, on the Angels liking Forster. According to Polan, the contract includes a variety of incentive clauses. The base salary, he said, is “considerably less” than the $490,000 the Braves were to pay Forster this season.

“He could make a lot of money or a little,” Polan said.

Forster was cut by the Braves on April 1. Since then, he has been throwing daily and working out on a regular basis.

“I’m looking forward to getting back,” he said Tuesday. “The Angels are a good ballclub, a good contending ballclub. That’s what I wanted.”

As for the circumstances of his tryout, Forster was unaware of Candelaria’s condition. “That’s the bad thing then,” he said when told of the scheduled surgery, “for something like that to happen.”

Forster said he has no idea what the Angels will want to see today during the tryout. “All I’m going to do is throw the ball and show them what I’m capable of doing,” he said. “I’ll do whatever they want.”