Angels Re-Sign Free Agent Relief Pitcher Greg Minton

Two days after the acquisition of Chili Davis, the Angels added another free agent to their roster, re-signing relief pitcher Greg Minton Thursday for the 1988 season. No other terms of the contract were announced.

Minton, 36, filed for free agency after last season but that act proved a mere formality for the pitcher, who wanted to remain with the team. He joined the Angels last June after being cut in May by the San Francisco Giants, and went 5-4 with a 3.08 earned-run average and 10 saves.

“I had intended to retire at the end of last season,” said Minton, who saved just nine games in his last two full seasons with the Giants. “But after joining California, I had fun playing the game for the first time in a few years. That was very important to me and my family.”

Minton combined with rookie DeWayne Buice to save 27 games in 1987, marking only the fourth time that two Angel pitchers saved 10 or more games during the same season. With Donnie Moore recuperating from October back surgery, Minton figures prominently in the Angels’ bullpen plans for 1988.

“With a healthy Donnie Moore, DeWayne Buice and myself, our staff could really be outstanding,” Minton said. “We have the potential to have as effective a bullpen as in San Francisco, when we had Gary Lavelle, Al Holland and my self in 1981-82.”

Minton saved 21 games for the Giants in ‘81, followed by 30 in ‘82, 22 in ’83 and 19 in ’84. He has a career total of 134 saves--124 with San Francisco, which puts him second on the Giants’ all-time list behind Lavelle with 127.

Minton’s 3.08 ERA with the Angels was his best since 1982, when he finished with a 1.83 mark for the Giants.