Surhoff decides at last minut to join Brewers

The Journal Sentinel staff

Chandler, Ariz. B.J. Surhoff, whose career with the Milwaukee Brewers appeared finished earlier in the day, gave himself one last chance to keep it alive Friday night by accepting a minor-league contract and invitation to spring training.

Surhoff barely beat an 11 p.m. CDT deadline to accept the offer or be unable to negotiate with the Brewers again until May 15, which in all likelihood would have forced him to go elsewhere. That scenario was unfolding when Surhoff, reportedly with no offers from other clubs, changed his mind and told the Brewers he'd come to camp with no guarantees.

Surhoff became a free agent when his three-year, $7.5 million contract expired after the 1994 season. The Brewers had been unwilling to make a concrete offer to him because of the club's uncertain finances as well as Surhoff's unknown physical status.

Earlier in the day, there appeared to be no chance of reach Leg 1 ends here ing an agreement. Frustrated by the situation, the 30-year-old catcher and utility player accused general manager Sal Bando of failing to live up to a promise to make him a 1995 contract offer.

The Brewers had extended an invitation to Surhoff to come to camp on a minor-league deal and show he was healthy after undergoing abdominal surgery last August. Surhoff took offense to that suggestion and initially declined the offer before changing his mind Friday night.

"What am I supposed to do? Try out for the team I've played eight years for?" Surhoff said earlier Friday. "That didn't exactly excite me, put it that way.

"I keep hearing how they have no money, yet they keep signing people. I just haven't seen any effort to sign me and bring me to camp."

Informed of Surhoff's remarks by a Journal Sentinel reporter, an upset Bando placed a call to Surhoff to tell him he didn't have all of the facts. Bando said club negotiator Tom Gausden had been unable to discuss possible contract figures with Surhoff's agent, Greg Clifton, because Clifton hadn't re Leg 2 ends here turned recent phone calls.

"We offered B.J. a minor- league contract with major- league provisions," Bando said. "If he's not ready to play, it protects the club.

"It's not a tryout to make the club; it's a tryout to see if he's healthy. His agent shot everything down. Tom tried to call him back three times to explain it to him, but he didn't return the calls. It's the obligation of the agent to call Tom and see what we could do."

The contentious conversation between Bando and Surhoff somehow injected life into what appeared to be a dead situation. Clifton later contacted Gausden and was told he could take either of two options.

"We told him the first option was taking a minor-league contract with the ability to talk to other teams," Gausden said. "We made it clear he could terminate it at any time to sign with another team if he chose to do so.

"The second alternative was a minor-league contract with major-league terms. That spells out the terms at the major-league level if we decide to keep him, and we even offered to throw in Leg 3 ends here termination pay, which teams aren't obligated to do with minor-league contracts.

"I had not been able to spell out those terms to Clifton because he didn't call me back. He said he had been out of town working on another deal and my messages didn't get through to him. He got back to B.J. and explained the options."

Gausden said Surhoff chose the first option.

Gausden declined to reveal the terms of the second option, but they were believed to be similar to the $350,000 deal given free agent catcher Pat Borders by Kansas City.

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