BASEBALL : Talks to Center on Signing Freeze

Eugene Orza, associate general counsel of the baseball players’ union, said Wednesday he expects to continue conversations with management officials today on the owners’ request for a 45-day freeze on contract signings and a delay in the start of free-agent filing from Saturday to Nov. 30.

However, Orza said collective bargaining would probably not resume until next week because of business and travel commitments by many of the key people.

He also said that the union would not make a decision on the freeze until Tuesday or Wednesday and that eligible players would be advised to hold off filing until then. Sources said Orza would like to trade acceptance of the freeze for return of the service time that players lost during the strike, but a management attorney said the owners would not agree to that.

Citing the possibility of a bargaining agreement or eventual implementation of their salary-cap proposal, the owners say the freeze would prevent the possibility of players signing under two sets of rules while giving the two sides an extended period to concentrate on negotiations.

The union, however, thinks the freeze is designed to give the owners time to decide what they want to implement and to shorten the off-season decision time for prospective free agents and players in general.