Davis Signs for 3 Years, $4.1 Million

The Angels, who used to throw around 3-year contracts about as often as they won pennants, signed outfielder Chili Davis Wednesday to one worth $4.1 million and are closing in on a 3-year, $3-million agreement with shortstop Dick Schofield.

Coming on the heels of the 3-year, $2.6-million contract given free-agent outfielder Claudell Washington last month, this represents something of a trend.

Is Mike Port becoming a soft touch?

Wally Joyner has his own thoughts on the matter, but Port, the Angels’ vice president, has whittled the club’s list of arbitration candidates to two and could be down to one by Friday.

Dan Grigsby, the agent who represents Schofield, said he and the Angels are “very, very close” to an agreement and are “hoping to wrap things up on Friday.”

The Angels completed the Davis deal by offering the outfielder a contract that will pay him $1.275 million in 1989, $1.375 million in 1990 and $1.45 million in 1991.

Davis, 29, whose arbitration case had been scheduled for Friday, originally filed for a 1989 salary of $1.3 million. The Angels had countered with $1 million.

Davis’ 1988 Angel debut was resoundingly one-dimensional. Davis led the team in runs batted in with 93, hit 21 home runs, batted .268 in 158 games and had a career-high 29 doubles.

He also committed 19 outfield errors--5 more than the previous Angel club record.

Davis’ defensive shortcomings factored into the club’s recent acquisition of Washington, who will replace Davis as the regular right fielder. Davis, in turn, will move to left field, where there should be less opportunity for damage.

“I still find it mystifying,” Port said of Davis’ fielding problems. “Chili had so many good years playing in Candlestick Park, where it’s tough playing any outfield or infield position. It’s difficult just being on the bench in Candlestick.

“Prior to last year, you’d say a normal year for Chili Davis might be 7 to 11 or 12 errors, allowing for some errors out of aggressiveness or enthusiasm. Maybe it took him some time to get used to American League parks. Hopefully, last year was an aberration.”

It’s Davis’ hitting that brought about Wednesday’s agreement. “He hit a few home runs and drove in 90 runs, which is more than a lot of people did last year,” Port said.

But $4.1 million and 3 years for a designated hitter in outfielder’s clothing?

Port called the new contract a reciprocation for the show of faith Davis and agent Tom Reich displayed in the winter of 1987 when Davis--then a free agent--signed a 1-year, $850,000 contract with the Angels.

“At the time, Tom had the opportunity to demand a multiyear contract, as most free agents are want to do,” Port said. “It’s a credit to Chili that he said, ‘I’ll take the 1 year and show you want I can do and go from there.’

“(A 3-year contract) is what we sincerely both had in mind when Chili signed that first contract. He wasn’t afraid to go out and earn a multiyear contract.”

If Schofield signs Friday, that will mean Port has signed three 3-year agreements in less than a month. And they used to call him Iron Mike.

What, in the name of the bottom line, is going on here?

“With Chili, it was a matter of him proving his worth and his mettle,” Port said. “With Dick, if we can get it done, it means we’re essentially buying out 2 years of free agency. (With a 1-year contract, Schofield would be eligible for free agency after the 1989 season.) And with Claudell, without calling it hard-handed, a 3-year deal was what it took to bring him to the Angels. It took a 3-year offer to get Claudell to consider the Angels over the other possibilities he had.”

Of those eligible for free agency, that would leave Joyner alone among the Angels’ unsatisfied. Last Friday, he turned down a $2.24-million, 2-year offer that didn’t guarantee full payment during a potential player strike in 1990. According to Port, the sides remain polarized.

“Everything is status quo,” Port said. “(Joyner’s representatives) haven’t gotten back to us, so we’ve been working on the other fellas eligible for arbitration.”

Joyner, asking for $965,000 in arbitration, has a hearing scheduled for Monday, a hearing Port expects to be held.

“That’s the probable direction we’re headed,” he said. “Right now, there’s no reason to think of any other scenario.”