Percival considering comeback to majors

SEATTLE — Former Angels closer Troy Percival, who has not pitched since July 2005 because of a forearm injury, is considering a comeback, according to his agent, Paul Cohen.

Percival, who amassed 324 saves during an 11-year career, 10 of those years with the Angels, hadn’t picked up a baseball for a year when he started throwing about a month ago.

“He wanted to see if he’d blow his arm out,” Cohen said. “He threw for a couple of days, and it didn’t hurt. Then he threw for six days in a row with good velocity and good spin on his curve. He called me this week and said, ‘I might want to try this.’ He’s leaning toward a comeback and is supposed to give me his final answer [today].”

With such a shortage of quality relievers, Cohen is confident Percival, who saved three of the Angels’ four wins in the 2002 World Series, would land a job if he is sound. Though Percival finished his career with Detroit, the Angels would probably get the first crack at him.

“We love the Angels, but I haven’t spoken to anyone there,” Cohen said. “I’ll wait for Percy to give me the green light. If he’s serious, obviously I would call [Angels General Manager] Bill Stoneman.

“That’s not to presuppose they would want him or need him, but given his history with them, absolutely, he’d love to play there.”