Tavares Is Not Confident Angels Can Retain Finley

Angel President Tony Tavares peered into the team’s future Monday and saw a very fuzzy and fading picture of Chuck Finley.

“I’m not telling you we won’t sign Chuck, but at the numbers I’m hearing, I wouldn’t say we have a good shot,” Tavares said of Finley, the free-agent left-hander who has played 14 seasons in Anaheim.

“I value Chuck as a person and player, but $9 million a year is high. But you know what? Someone will pay him. There’s nothing these owners could do to shock me.”

Finley, who turns 37 this month but has never had a major arm or shoulder injury, is looking for a three-year deal in the $26-million range, and at least six teams, including the Indians, Rockies and Orioles, are expected to bid for him.

But with the Angels committing $43 million of their 2000 payroll to 10 players and gaping holes at second base, catcher and the bench, Tavares is not convinced they can afford to re-sign Finley, improve the club and maintain a budget in the $60-million range.

Finley went 12-11 with a 4.43 earned-run average and 200 strikeouts in 1999, but the Angels finished with a 70-92 record, 22 games behind Texas.

“The question is, are we good enough to win the [American League] West or the pennant with Chuck?” Tavares said. “If the answer is no, what’s the point? We’ve got to figure out ways to win, and at some point, payroll flexibility is an asset. . . .

“One of the things Chuck has to analyze is whether or not this team is going to win. If I’m him, I’m thinking, I’ve got three years left, who do I want to play for? A team that is just getting by or one that has a real chance of winning?”

In discussing Finley, Tavares seemed to intimate that the Angels, who say they have absorbed losses of more than $50 million in the last three years, might look to trim payroll and go into a rebuilding mode.

“But we’re not going to be Montreal, that’s not the answer,” Tavares said, referring to the extremely low-budget Expos. “But the answer may not be to increase payroll dramatically. . . . Sometimes you have to take a step back before you can a step forward.”

Tavares said the decision of whether to re-sign Finley will be General Manager Bill Stoneman’s, but it’s clear that for him to do so, he’ll have to shed some payroll and prove to Finley that they are committed to winning.

“Bill has [financial] restraints,” Tavares said, “but he can determine how to spend the money.”

If the Angels don’t retain Finley, they would receive no compensation in the form of draft picks from the team that signs him, and there is little quality pitching available on the free-agent market. They could be looking at a rotation of Belcher, Hill and three youngsters in 2000.

What message would that send to Angel fans?

“If the Mariners can’t re-sign Ken Griffey, what are they telling their fans?” Tavares said. “How high can we raise ticket prices? It’s easy to say just give him the money, but as some point, you get sick of losing money.”