Herzog Agrees to Meet With Tartabull’s Agent

Whitey Herzog, whose annoyance with agent Dennis Gilbert led him to say last month that he would negotiate with outfielder Danny Tartabull “only if he had another agent,” has scheduled a Tuesday meeting with Gilbert, probably at Gilbert’s office in Beverly Hills.

That sets the stage for a rapprochement between the two, whose friendship was fractured when Herzog declared Gilbert misled him by saying Bobby Bonilla wanted to play for the Angels. Bonilla eventually signed with the New York Mets.

“We’ve already reconciled,” Gilbert said Friday. However, beyond confirming his meeting with Herzog and confirming that he had received an offer from the Texas Rangers, Gilbert declined to comment on the status of negotiations with Tartabull’s suitors. “I will say we will have this completed by the end of next week,” Gilbert said.

The Angels’ hopes were boosted Friday when the Chicago White Sox said they had ended their pursuit of Tartabull, who hit .316 for Kansas City last season with 31 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Asked why his club was no longer interested in signing Tartabull, General Manager Ron Schueler said succinctly: “Five years,” the contract length Tartabull is seeking. The White Sox have offered a three-year deal, which Tartabull has declined.

Ranger GM Tom Grieve met with Tartabull last week to sketch out a five-year offer believed to be worth $20 million, and Tartabull--a Malibu resident--is expected to visit Texas Monday. The Yankees reportedly are also interested in Tartabull, but squabbling among the club’s executives has paralyzed their efforts to sign or trade players this winter.

In a move Herzog characterized as “a gamble,” the Angels on Friday announced the signing of free agent right-hander Don Robinson, who last season was 5-9 with a 4.38 earned-run average in 16 starts and 34 appearances for the San Francisco Giants. Robinson, 34, was a member of the 1979 World Series champion Pirates and is a 14-year veteran. He is guaranteed $900,000 this season and can increase his earnings to $1.8 million by meeting various performance standards.

“I’m not going to say he’s a sure 15-game winner,” Herzog said of Robinson, whose career record is 107-102. “We have to get some numbers and maneuverability. After we lost Kirk McCaskill (to the White Sox, through free agency), I had Don Robinson in mind. I hope he gives us a little more depth and a chance to take McCaskill’s place as a starter.”

Mark Langston, a 19-game winner last season, and Chuck Finley and Jim Abbott, who each won 18 games in 1991, are sure of places in the starting rotation. Joe Grahe and Robinson are expected to compete for the fourth spot.

“I think he’s flexible,” Dan O’Brien, an Angel senior vice president, said of Robinson. “And he’s a gamer.”

Herzog’s willingness to meet with Gilbert, about whom he said three weeks ago “our relationship is, that S.O.B. lied,” stems as much from necessity as contrition.

Foiled in his attempt to sign Bonilla and re-sign Wally Joyner, Herzog knows he must make some moves to fortify a team that last season ranked 13th in offense in the American League. Tartabull, who could play right field, would fit nicely into the Angels’ lineup.

“I think maybe I was a little tough on him,” Herzog said of Gilbert during a phone conversation from Herzog’s home in suburban St. Louis. “He and I have been friends since he played for Visalia (in the New York Mets’ farm system). Sometimes you have to let bygones be bygones.”

Club officials have said they’re reluctant to sign Tartabull for longer than four years, but their questionable offensive prospects might force them to concede that point. “I’d like to think we’re still in the hunt,” Herzog said.

Were the Angels to open the season with their current roster, Luis Polonia would start in left field, Junior Felix in center and Von Hayes in right. As Herzog envisions it, signing Tartabull to play right field would allow them to move Hayes to center and leave Hubie Brooks as the designated hitter.