BASEBALL IS BACK : ANGELS : Workouts to Begin Wednesday in Tempe

There was no negotiated settlement to baseball’s labor dispute Sunday, but the Angels were in a play-now, ask-questions-later mood as they packed their bags for spring training.

“I don’t know what’s really solved by this--it’s like a Band-Aid,” pitcher Chuck Finley said. “But it’s sure good to get going again. Maybe the season starting will help (owners and players) strike a deal.”

Although Mark Langston dreaded the thought of another work stoppage, the Angel pitcher and union representative said there’s no guarantee baseball would go through this abbreviated season without one.

“Not too many people can stomach that scenario today, but there is a fear of it happening,” Langston said. “We’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. After going through so much garbage, we just need to get back on the field and start playing ball.”

The Angels have asked their players to report to Tempe, Ariz., by Tuesday night and will hold their first official workout Wednesday. Manager Marcel Lachemann and his coaches will travel to Tempe today, after bidding farewell to their replacement team Sunday.

The 35 replacement players were treated to lunch at an Anaheim restaurant, and 20 were told that they will be reassigned to minor league teams. One has been offered a job as a scout, another as a minor league coach, and the other 13 have been released.

General Manager Bill Bavasi said the front office would help those players land jobs on independent league teams if they so desired. Several players, Bavasi said, chose to return to their old jobs, and Bavasi said he might consider using one as a batting practice pitcher.

Langston didn’t think that was a good idea.

“These (replacements) still don’t think they did anything wrong--we do,” he said. “We think they prolonged the situation and tried to undermine us. It will be very lonely for those guys (in the minor leagues). This is a game of camaraderie, hanging out and doing stuff with other people, but believe me, they will be isolated. I don’t expect any of them to be asked out to lunch.”

But replacement Ken Briggs said, “If it wasn’t for us--and this is where I think some of the major leaguers are wrong--this thing would have never gotten settled. We put pressure on both sides.”

Bavasi said, “We’re not that concerned with animosity toward these guys. They’ll be in our minor league clubhouses, and no one is going to give them a hard time.”

Bavasi plans to spend the next few days in Anaheim tending to administrative duties. Only 11 Angels are signed to contracts, but of the unsigned players, all but designated hitter Chili Davis are under reserve and could report to camp while their contracts are being negotiated. Davis and the Angels have reached a tentative understanding on a three-year, $11.25-million deal that would have to be formalized. There are no free agents on the team’s 40-man roster.

“We shouldn’t have the problems most clubs might have (getting players signed),” said Tim Mead, assistant general manager.

There may be as many as 115 free agents available, but Mead said it’s doubtful that the Angels, who had an American League-worst 47-68 record in 1994, will compete for any premier players, including Yankee left-hander and former Angel fan favorite Jim Abbott, who has told friends he would be interested in returning to Anaheim.

But the Angels, who signed Baltimore reliever Lee Smith for $2 million during the off-season, are virtually at their $25.9-million salary budget already.

“Right now we don’t have a dime,” Mead said. “We were being thrifty before this started. If we’re going to add to this club, we’re going to have to be very creative. Fortunately, we’ve shored up our primary need (for a closer).”