Abbott’s Long-Term Deal a Casualty of Angel Deficit

Jim Abbott’s promised long-term contract has become a casualty of the Angels’ projected $8.5-million deficit.

Senior Vice President Dan O’Brien said Saturday the club’s financial outlook “all plays into” the cessation of talks with Abbott, who was 18-11 last season.

Co-owner Jackie Autry said Friday the Angels face their largest loss and were borrowing more--and more often--to meet their expenses. She cited salary obligations of $16 million next season to five players--Chuck Finley, Mark Langston, Gary Gaetti, Bryan Harvey and Chuck Crim--as reason for fiscal concern.

“To tell you it’s unrelated would be a gross error,” O’Brien said of the cessation of discussions with Abbott’s agent, Scott Boras.

Even before signing Finley to a four-year, $18.5-million contract and Harvey to a four-year, $15.5-million deal last winter, club officials said they intended to sign Abbott for a similar period to keep the nucleus of the pitching staff intact.

To avoid arbitration, they agreed on a one-year, $1.85-million contract in January. However, at that time, the Angels promised to discuss an extension or a new and longer deal with Abbott when their other players were under contract.

Abbott, not a complainer by nature, said Saturday he is upset by the turnabout.

“It’s something the Angels told me directly and indirectly they would be working on throughout the winter and they changed their mind. That’s their prerogative. My job is to go out and play the best I can, but I’m not happy about it,” Abbott said Saturday, after he outlasted control problems and was the winner in a 13-4 rout of the Indians at Angels Stadium.

“They told my agent that because they have a projected loss this year, they were no longer interested in giving me a multi-year contract. I can’t say I deserve it or not, but they did mention it in the (newspapers) and to me and to everyone. When it came time for doing it, they did it for Chuck and Bryan and said they’d do it with me and then changed their minds. . .

“It’s a frustrating thing and I’m not happy about it, but there’s not much I can do about it. It’s over for now. They’ve made their decision. In one way, I’m honored they thought of it, but in one way I’m hurt.”

Abbott, 24, was the Angels’ first-round draft pick in 1988. After compiling a 22-26 record in his first two seasons, he emerged as one of the league’s top pitchers last season. Overcoming an 0-4 start, Abbott went on to win a career-high 18 games and had a 2.89 earned-run average, third in the AL. He and Harvey were voted the Angels’ most valuable players by their teammates.

Abbott said he was not “trying to negotiate through the paper,” but said he believed the Angels would secure his future.

“It’s disappointing to have those expectations created and have them change their mind with the last of the three (after Finley and Harvey),” he said. “There were expectations created by saying they were going to do it and now they’re not following through. I’m unhappy, but there’s really not much I can do.”