Astros Re-Sign Three Free Agents; Gullickson Heads for Japan

Free-agent pitchers Dave Smith, Danny Darwin and Larry Andersen re-signed with the Houston Astros Friday night, while right-hander Bill Gullickson left the New York Yankees for Japan.

Teams had until midnight, EST, to re-sign their free agents or lose that right until May 1. Earlier Friday, pitcher Atlee Hammaker stayed with the San Francisco Giants, accepting a two-year contract.

Pitcher John Candelaria of the New York Mets and Gullickson were the only two of six remaining free agents--all of whom rejected salary arbitration--who did not remain with their clubs.

Candelaria told the Mets a few minutes before midnight that he decided not to re-sign and was considering another opportunity. There was speculation that Candelaria was trying to work out a deal to go to the Yankees. Candelaria was 8-6 for the Angels and 2-0 for the Mets last season.

Smith, who made $700,000 last season, signed a two-year, $2.2-million contract with an option for 1990 at $1.1 million. The Astros must pay him $250,000 if they do not pick up his option.

Darwin and Andersen each signed two-year contracts. Darwin’s was for $760,000 for this season and $775,000 for 1989 and Andersen’s was for $450,000 this season and $425,000 in 1989. Smith, Darwin and Andersen all got incentives in their contracts.

The Astros also announced they had signed free-agent pitcher Joaquin Andujar for one season, extended pitcher Mike Scott’s contract one year through 1989 and signed infielder Denny Walling to a two-year deal.

Scott’s extension was worth $1.3 million, Andujar signed for $450,000 and Walling got $575,000 for this season and $615,000 in 1989.

“With a deal of this size, it’s difficult to know where to begin,” Astro General Manager Bill Wood said. “You can’t minimize the importance of any of the players involved.”

Smith, however, was the main player the Astros wanted to keep. He is one of the top relievers in baseball and was the most prominent free agents facing the midnight deadline.

Gullickson said he would take a two-year, $3.3 million proposal from the Tokyo Giants.

“The offer from Japan will take care of my family for life,” Gullickson told The New York Times from the Seattle airport. He said his wife and his agent Doug Baldwin, who lives in Seattle, would accompany him to Tokyo to sign a contract.

“I’m a pretty adventurous person. I think I might enjoy it,” Gullickson said. “I’ll be 30 when my two years are up and I can still resume my career in the big leagues after that.”

The Yankees acquired Gullickson in a midseason trade from Cincinnati for left-hander Dennis Rasmussen. He was 10-11 for Cincinnati and 4-2 for the Yankees.

Yankee General Manager Lou Piniella confirmed that the team’s final offer was $900,000 per season--a $50,000 pay cut.

“I got an indication yesterday from the agent that he wanted us to revise our figures upward,” Piniella said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press from his home Friday night. “We felt at the time, as we do now, that we’ve got what we consider our best offer.”

Piniella said he had not spoken with Gullickson or his agent, Doug Baldwin, on Friday.

“Our offer is still on the table yet tonight,” Piniella said.

The Yankees recently re-signed reliever Dave Righetti to a three-year, $4.3 million contract. Righetti had been offered a multimillion-dollar contract by the Tokyo Giants.

Smith, who turns 33 in two weeks, had 24 saves and a 1.65 earned run average. He was 2-3 in 50 games.

On Thursday, Smith met with the Oakland Athletics and threatened to leave the Astros if they did not offer more money.

Darwin and Andersen helped fill out Houston’s staff. Darwin was 9-10 with a 3.59 ERA as a starter and Andersen went 9-5 and five saves and a 3.45 ERA.

Hammaker, who rebounded from shoulder surgery and went 10-10 last season, signed a two-year contract with the Giants for $650,000 this season and $675,000 in 1989.

Andujar, 35, became a free agent when Oakland decided not to re-sign after the season ended. The former 20-game winner with St. Louis was 3-5 with a 6.08 ERA for the Athletics during another injury-plagued year.

“If he returns to his form of a year and a half ago, we have an All-Star caliber pitcher,” Wood said.

Scott, the 1986 National League Cy Young winner, went 16-13 with a 3.23 ERA last season. Houston insured he will stay for at least two more years.

The Astros “recognized the fact that he has been one of the finest pitchers in baseball over the past three seasons,” Wood said.

Walling batted .283 with five home runs and 33 RBI.

Elsewhere, if Manager Whitey Herzog has his way, Bob Horner will not play for St. Louis this season. Horner and the Cardinals began talks Thursday, one day after Jack Clark signed a free-agent contract with the Yankees.

“I don’t like Horner,” he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Of his lifetime homers, about 70% were hit in Atlanta. He never could hit in St. Louis. He can’t hit and he can’t field.”

However, Cardinal General Manager Dal Maxvill said Friday that the team may sign Horner if his salary demands are not too high.

“It depends on what we would have to pay him,” Maxvill said. “When people hear you’re interested in a free agent, they think you’re ready to pay him $2 million, but this is not the case. If the price were right, we’d have to show some interest.”

Also Friday, the Yankees reached agreement with shortstop Bobby Meacham on a one-year contract worth $212,500, double his 1987 salary, and pitcher Mike Morgan reached agreement with Baltimore on a one-year contract. Both were eligible for arbitration.