Dodgers Offer Valenzuela Arbitration in Order to Protect Negotiating Rights

Protecting their negotiating rights to Fernando Valenzuela until Jan. 8, the Dodgers offered salary arbitration to Valenzuela Thursday, a procedural step most clubs follow with any unsigned free agents of their own.

“Since we have been unable to resolve the salary amount in our negotiations, we are perfectly willing to let an arbitrator resolve it,” Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, said in a statement.

The Dodgers offered Valenzuela $1.5 million for 1990 and an option year at $1.5 million with a $350,000 buyout if the option isn’t picked up. Valenzuela wants more than $6 million for three years.

Meanwhile, the club continues to negotiate with Arn Tellem, attorney for Mark Langston, another free agent left-hander. Those negotiations are believed to have reached the $12- to $15-million level for four and five years.