Winter Baseball Meetings : Beniquez Is Unhappy to Be an Ex-Angel

The hurt left Juan Beniquez in tears.

It left his agent hoping that Beniquez could ultimately hurt the Angels.

“I’m going to make every effort to have Juan come back and hurt the Angels with his ability,” agent Ray Negron said Sunday as baseball’s winter meetings opened quietly, as anticipated.

Baseball’s leading right-handed hitter for the last three years with a composite average of .315, free agent Beniquez officially became an ex-Angel at midnight Saturday.

The Angels, under terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, had to notify Beniquez by midnight if they chose to settle the negotiations by arbitration.

That notification would have extended their negotiating rights to Beniquez until Jan. 8. By passing, they now can not re-sign him until May 1, and he will very likely have signed elsewhere by then.

There were rumors Sunday that the Dodgers, who are looking for a right-handed hitter to platoon with center fielder Ken Landreaux, are now interested in Beniquez, but Vice President Al Campanis denied them.

“We’re not interested in any free agents,” he said. “We’ve been saying that since the end of the season, and it’s not going to change.”

Negron, had been hopeful of resolving the Beniquez situation before the midnight deadline, said by phone from Seattle that he would now have to come to San Diego “in the hope of doing some Christmas shopping.”

Negron suggested that his first call will be on the Toronto Blue Jays, who attempted to acquire Beniquez via trade last spring and are again in the market for a fourth outfielder and designated hitter.

He also mentioned the Boston Red Sox, who are hopeful of trading a regular outfielder, which might open a berth for the 35-year-old Beniquez.

The latter hit .305, .336 and .304 during the last three seasons, emerging as the Angels’ only .300 hitter in 1985, when he earned $365,000.

Beniquez entered the new negotiations seeking two years at a reported $1.2 million, but apparently capitulated to the club’s insistance on a one-year deal during 11th hour talks between Negron and Angel General Manger Mike Port Saturday night.

“There was no problem with the money,” Negron said. “There was no problem with the drug testing clause (now being included in most new contracts) because Juan has nothing to hide.

“We were willing to accept the one-year contract, but they wouldn’t guarantee it.

“I mean, Mike Port is a decent guy who has a job to do, but he didn’t give Juan a fair shake. What happens if he gets off to a slow start? What happens if he goes to spring training again with no assurance of a job and they release him without a guaranteed contract?

“I couldn’t let him accept that. I wouldn’t have been doing my job.”

Negron said that Beniquez, in his final desire to remain with the Angels, wanted only the same considerations given second baseman Bobby Grich, who signed a one-year contract that guaranteed a $500,000 salary and offered incentives of about $200,000.

“Juan is a year younger than Grich,” Negron said. “Frankly, Grich is on the decline and we’re just starting. Juan’s had his best three seasons the last three seasons, and last year was his best in the majors. He hit .300 last year, not .246 like Grich. He set the table up better than anyone on the team.

“I hate to sound bitter, but I am. I’m upset. Juan wanted to go back to the Angels and was willing to take less than he initially proposed.

“He loved the fans there and felt he had been accepted for the first time in his career. The Angels had given him a chance when just about no one else would. He regarded the team as his savior. I mean, he was in tears when I finally had to tell him (via phone to Puerto Rico) it hadn’t worked out.”

Port said that, because of Beniquez’s age and the new productivity of the farm system, he was reluctant to guarantee the contract or go more than one year.

He said he was also reluctant to go to arbitration because of 1) the probability that Beniquez would have raised his price and 2) the uncertainty as to how the arbitrator would rule.

Said Negron: “We’d have filed for $750,000, and we’d have won.”

Said Port, of the Beniquez role: “It may be that we won’t be able to replace him, but we felt that we have some people deserving of a chance. Hindsight is easy. This was a tough decision that had to be made now.”

The Angels have now let two of their top hitters--Beniquez and 40-year-old Rod Carew--depart. Beniquez seldom had a regular position or received recognition for his accomplishments, but his contributions were reflected by the statistics.

Manager Gene Mauch, who said in July that Beniquez was comparable to an artist and the best right-handed hitter in baseball, reflected on the club’s decisions and said:

“I don’t think we can replace him with just one guy, but I think we might be able to do it with a combination of people.

“Juan had slipped quite a bit defensively, but it will take more than one person to replace his bat.”

Mauch said that outfielder Darrell Miller will now play more and that a touted Wally Joyner may be ready to take over at first base, one of five position at which Beniquez appeared last year. He also said that George Hendrick, who hit .122 after his acquisition from Pittsburgh and is guaranteed a reported $800,000 in 1986, will be counted on to regain his St. Louis form.

“He’s my sleeper,” said Mauch, which is exactly what Hendrick was in ’85.

Al Campanis had introductory talks Sunday with the Montreal Expos, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies recently signed right-handed hitting center fielder Garry Maddox to a one-year contract and may now make him available to the Dodgers, who are planning on a Landreaux platoon until 21-year-old Jose Gonzalez, who played at double A San Antonio last year, is ready.

Campanis said he thought that most clubs will wait until spring training before trading and that any trade he consummates here would be for a role player, which does not eliminate the possibility of a right-handed hitting center fielder--such as Maddox or Seattle’s Dave Henderson.

Montreal, a source said, confirmed to the Dodgers that Andre Dawson is available, but the price--a replacement hitter and combination of pitchers--is believed to be too high. The clubs are said to have discussed a deal involving Gary Lucas or Dan Schatzader, two of the Expos left handed pitchers.

A Dodger official requesting anonymity said a deal with Toronto involving Steve Yeager is possible but ruled out the acquisition of second baseman Damaso Garcia, which would allow the Dodgers to trade Steve Sax or move him to center. The Dodgers talked twice with the Blue Jays Sunday regarding Yeager.