Agent Calls Negotiations Cordial, but Joyner Files for Arbitration

First baseman Wally Joyner, whose contract negotiations with the Angels have been marked by occasional bitterness, filed for salary arbitration Thursday, but his attorney had only nice things to say about the club.

Barry Axelrod left the impression that the matter of Joyner’s contract could be resolved short of an arbitration hearing in February.

“Everything has been extremely cordial, and I’d say that given the history of our relationship (with the Angels), there’s more than a possibility that we’ll talk again,” Axelrod said.

Joyner filed for arbitration last year before agreeing to a 1989 contract for $920,000. He made another $50,000 in bonuses.

Players who file for arbitration will exchange figures with their clubs Tuesday. An arbitrator will then choose the figures of one or the other after a hearing in February. The player and his club can continue negotiating until the hearing begins.

Axelrod, who represents Joyner in association with Michael Watkins, said that for the first time in their relationship the Angels came in with a competitive offer, but that “enough of a difference” remains for Joyner to protect his options by filing.

Axelrod said the wave of remarkable signings this winter has complicated negotiations by making it difficult to draw comparisons.

“There’s probably a $500,000 range in which we could put Wally and be valid seeking either the top end or the bottom,” he said. “We could make a good argument for our figure, and the Angels could make a good argument for theirs. I think both sides made an effort to come in at market value.”

Axelrod said he broached a multiyear contract in his talks with the club, but was told that with so much going on in the market, so many players yet to sign (the Angels have 10 others eligible for arbitration) and so much doubt about the course of the collective bargaining talks, the Angels would rather consider only a one-year contract at this time.