Beltre Negotiators Take Weekend Off

VERO BEACH, Fla. — Dodger Chairman Bob Daly and agent Scott Boras agreed Thursday to continue negotiating a multiyear contract for third baseman Adrian Beltre, despite missing a team-imposed deadline to sign players.

Daly and Boras tried to complete a three-year contract during their third two-hour meeting in as many days at Dodgertown as the Dodgers’ deadline to sign players passed. Daly waived the deadline for Beltre, the only unsigned player in camp, because he and Boras are still “negotiating in good faith,” he said.

Under major league rules, players must be signed by March 11. Daly and Boras are now viewing that date as the deadline.

The Major League Players Assn. has filed a grievance on behalf of Beltre because Commissioner Bud Selig ruled in December that the Dodgers violated major league rules in signing him before his 16th birthday but permitted the ballclub to retain his rights. The union will withdraw the grievance if Beltre agrees to a deal.

Daly and Boras said they plan to take the weekend off and resume negotiations Monday when Daly returns to Los Angeles. However, Boras said there are big steps to take and that “if we don’t get this thing done by the 10th, I just don’t believe it will be done.”

Boras has compared Beltre--through his first full season--favorably to players making at least $5 million a season. Beltre will play in Grapefruit League exhibition games, beginning today against the Houston Astros at Dodgertown, without a contract.

It remains unclear how much the Dodgers are willing to pay to resolve the Beltre matter, and an arbitration hearing is expected to be set soon now that John Rocker’s case has been heard.

So Daly and Boras return to their corners with several rounds to go and the stakes increasing.

“We had good discussions, very good discussions, but we’re not there yet,” said Daly, who began negotiating Monday with Boras while they traveled to Dodgertown aboard Daly’s jet. “I don’t want to give the impression that we are inches away from a deal.

“We are discussing concepts. What we talked about today will require us, certainly me, to do a little checking, and for Scott to think about a lot. I would say we didn’t go backward from yesterday, but we didn’t make strides to announce a deal [today].”

Said Boras, who has bought extra disability insurance for Beltre: “There’s a lot of hope that when you do something like this, you’re going to read the market fairly from both sides.

“To accomplish that, there certainly has to be an understanding of the projection of the player. That’s very hard for everyone because you get into subjective evaluations as opposed to easy facts.”

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Catcher Angel Pena signed a one-year contract for $210,000. He will make $82,500 if he plays in the minors this season.