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Harvey Returns to Angels : Baseball: Relief pitcher coming off elbow surgery signs one-year deal that could be worth $2.2 million.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Angels, who gambled and lost three years ago when they let closer Bryan Harvey get away, decided Wednesday to try their luck one more time.

The Angels signed Harvey to a guaranteed $500,000 contract with $1.7 million available in bonuses seven months after he underwent “Tommy John” reconstructive elbow surgery.

“I’m not sure if he could pitch by this evening, but I think he’ll be ready by opening day or soon thereafter,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “We have good reason to believe he is progressing very well.”

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Harvey, 33, who initially will be used as a middle man for Lee Smith and Troy Percival, saved a franchise-record 46 games for the Angels in 1991. He suffered from elbow problems and was not protected in the 1992 expansion draft. The Florida Marlins drafted Harvey, and he saved 45 games for them in 1993.

But Harvey sat out most of the 1994 season because of elbow problems and pitched only one game in 1995 when it was determined that he needed surgery.

“It’s a great feeling for me,” said Harvey, who’s keeping in shape by throwing baseballs against his barn on his North Carolina farm. “I think everything’s going to be good. I wanted to go back there, and I wanted to be back with Marcel [Lachemann, former pitching coach who has become the Angels’ manager].”

Harvey will earn an extra $300,000 if he is on the active roster all season. He will be paid $150,000 for finishing 30 games; $250,000 apiece for finishing 40, 45 and 50 games; $200,000 for finishing 20 games before the All-Star break and $200,000 for finishing 25 games after the break.

By the 9 p.m. deadline Wednesday, there were only five high-profile players who were neither signed nor tendered contracts: starting pitcher Ben McDonald of the Baltimore Orioles, third baseman Todd Zeile of the Chicago Cubs, starter Kevin Tapani of the Dodgers, catcher Benito Santiago of the Cincinnati Reds and Deion Sanders of the San Francisco Giants.

“I don’t think there’s the non-tenders everybody thought there would be,” San Diego Padre General Manager Kevin Towers said. “I think everybody’s still trying to sign guys; it’s just that they’re not going berserk.”

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Perhaps the free-agent market would have been dramatically different, several general managers and agents said, but the atmosphere changed with a trio of signings: Jose Canseco (two years, $9 million), Al Leiter (three years, $8.6 million) and Tino Martinez (five years, $20.25 million).

“How many times can they [baseball owners] cry wolf and have the public crying for them before people realize what’s happening?” agent Tony Attanasio said. “You look at some of these signings, and you say, ‘Why would the owners do that?’ ”

Yet ballclubs once again proved Wednesday that there’s plenty of money to go around:

The small-market Padres are involved in talks to acquire Royal first baseman Wally Joyner and his $5-million contract for Bip Roberts, but have also offered free-agent outfielder Ron Gant a three-year deal for nearly $15 million. The Orioles, who signed infielder B.J. Surhoff to a three-year, $3.7-million contract, are confident they’ll sign free-agent second baseman Roberto Alomar and free-agent pitcher David Cone--which will cost about $12 million alone in annual salary. The Boston Red Sox made offers to free-agent pitchers Tom Gordon and Andy Benes. The Philadelphia Phillies want to sign Zeile. The Cubs want Dave Hollins.

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