Moore Will Skip Arbitration, Take Angel Offer of $375,000

Relief pitcher Donnie Moore, selected from the Atlanta Braves as compensation for the Angels’ loss of free agent Fred Lynn, has agreed to skip salary arbitration and accept the club’s 1985 offer of $375,000, agent David Pinter said Saturday.

Pinter said that he had urged Moore to pursue arbitration or press for a multiyear contract but his client, happy to be where he figures to pitch regularly, didn’t want the acrimony that can accompany arbitration. His hearing had been scheduled for Monday.

Moore earned $130,000 while saving 16 games last year. He filed for arbitration while still with the Braves, asking for $490,000. The Braves countered with $375,000, figures the Angels inherited when they drafted Moore. The Angels, Pinter said, have agreed to several incentive provisions which, if achieved, could lift Moore to the $490,000 he had been seeking.

It was reported recently that if Moore, who is eligible for free agency at the end of the ’85 season, failed to get a multiyear contract from the Angels, he was prepared to pay a $30,000 premium for a Lloyd’s of London insurance policy that would pay him $1 million if he goes on the disabled list this year. Pinter said Saturday that Moore has yet to reach a decision on the insurance.