Angels Say Carew Won’t Be Offered a Contract for ’86

The Angels confirmed Friday what had been expected since the team’s bid to make the American League playoffs died in Texas three weeks ago--that 1985, the season of Rod Carew’s 3,000th career hit, would be his last in an Angel uniform.

General Manager Mike Port announced that the club would not offer 1986 contracts to Carew or relief pitcher Al Holland, two of the Angels’ nine potential free agents.

In a prepared statement, Port said: “It was an extremely tough decision, and Rod handled our conversation with great dignity and understanding of the fact that the Angels have reached a transitional stage. He has been an outstanding achiever throughout his career, and we wish him all the best.”

Carew, 40, had just finished the option year of a two-year contract with the Angels. He played out his option in 1983 to test the free-agent market but went undrafted and eventually re-signed with the Angels.

A veteran of 19 major league seasons, Carew has a .328 career batting average and a .314 mark in seven years with the Angels. In each of the last two seasons, however, he hit below .300.

He got his 3,000th hit Aug. 4--he now has 3,053--but finished the year with his lowest batting average since 1968, .280, with two home runs and 39 RBIs.

The Angels’ decision not to re-sign Carew was influenced by the team’s depth at first base, Carew’s position. They have several candidates--27-year old Daryl Sconiers, highly regarded minor league prospect Wally Joyner and, possibly, Doug DeCinces, who may be moved from third base in 1986.

Carew lives in Anaheim Hills and said earlier that he hoped to play another year with the Angels but doubted if he would be asked to return.

“I expected something like this,” Carew said in an interview with KNBC-TV. “I’ve expected it since July, so it’s not news to me. I’m 40 years old and I know I can’t do the things that I used to do.”

Carew said, however, that he does not feel too old to play baseball.

“I don’t feel like I’m a 40-year-old person,” he said. “I still feel like a young person. . . . I know I can still play.”

Holland, 33, came to the Angels along with John Candelaria and George Hendrick in an August trade with Pittsburgh. He had an 0-1 record with a 1.48 earned-run average and no saves in 15 appearances with the Angels.

Angel Notes A third Angel, outfielder Juan Beniquez, will also probably choose free agency. The Angels say they are interested in re-signing Beniquez, the team’s leading hitter at .304 last season, but are opposed to a long-term contract, which Beniquez, 35, is seeking. . . . The Angels also said that they have every intention of signing free-agent pitchers Donnie Moore and Don Sutton and second baseman Bobby Grich. Moore, however, is expected to test the market. According to his agent, David Pinter, the Angels have offered a two-year contract worth $700,000 a year. Moore is reportedly seeking a four-year package worth $5 million to $6 million overall.

Two other free-agent pitchers, Geoff Zahn and Ken Forsch, are coming off shoulder and elbow surgery, respectively. General Manager Mike Port said he would not offer Zahn a guaranteed contract but could possibly extend him an invitation to spring training. Port has not yet talked with Forsch, who is away on a hunting vacation, but the same policy presumably will hold for him. . . . Reggie Jackson, who has qualified for an option year in 1986, said he wants to stay with the Angels but is looking for a raise from his 1985 salary of $975,000 and another option year. He will begin talks with the Angels after the World Series, where he is working as a television commentator. . . . The Angels have raised ticket prices for the 1986 season, with the new prices ranging from $8 for the best box seats to $3 for general admission. The new individual game prices are $8 and $7 for box seats, $5 for reserved seats and $3 for general admission. The Angels have also raised parking prices to $3 per car.