Angels Withdraw Their Offer to Moore, but Talks With Pitcher Will Continue

The Angels have withdrawn their latest contract offer to free-agent relief pitcher Donnie Moore, although both sides say the move is more a matter of standard procedure than controversy.

“It doesn’t really mean anything,” said Peter Rose, an attorney representing Moore. “We’ll continue to talk to them. They have indicated no willingness to cease negotiations, and neither have we.”

The Angels had reportedly offered Moore a three-year contract worth $2.7 million, with the stipulation that the proposal would be withdrawn Monday at midnight. Moore and representatives Rose and David Pinter, seeking a four-year deal in the $5-6 million range, let the deadline pass.

Angel General Manager Mike Port said: “We’re free to continue negotiations. We can come back with a proposal at the same terms or less or whatever. Nothing was done on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. We are not at an impasse, we are not at odds. (Signing) Donnie Moore is our No. 1 priority.”

Port said the Angels withdrew their offer because the team thought Moore’s representatives would be able to use their three-year proposal as bargaining leverage with other teams.

Moore, 31, was voted the Angels’ most valuable player in 1985 after setting a club record of 31 saves with a 1.92 earned-run average.

Port said negotiations with free-agent pitcher Don Sutton would resume later this week, once Sutton returned home from a vacation.