Newly signed Reds pitcher Pete Harnisch had at least one offer in the seven-figure range, his agent said Thursday, but turned it down. The Reds, in fact, came in with the lowest offer at just $300,000 for a one-year deal.
But Harnisch took the deal anyway, agent Greg Clifton said, because he thought Cincinnati gave him the best chance to re-establish himself as one of the National League's workhorse pitchers.
Harnisch, 31, missed most of last year with insomnia and depression that doctors believe may have been linked to his attempt to quit chewing tobacco. He hasn't had a winning season since 1994 with Houston and needs a quality year to keep his career going and perhaps interest teams in a bigger deal next offseason.
''We approach 1998 as a unique situation where money was not the issue,'' Clifton said. ''Baseball was the issue. Sometimes the two coincide, sometimes they don't. ''Pete wants to re-establish himself as a quality major league pitcher in 1998, and the Reds offered the best circumstances.''
The Reds needed starting pitching and aggressively pursued Harnisch, giving him a feeling he was wanted here.
Clifton said he started with 18 teams, then narrowed the list to the Reds, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland. The latter three are all in the American League; Harnisch has spent most of his career in the National League.
''He's always liked the National League and he likes pitching in Cincinnati,'' Clifton said. ''Jim (Bowden, the Reds general manager) was very upfront with us about how much they wanted Pete to be a member of the Reds.''
Harnisch was traveling Thursday and unavailable for comment. But Clifton said Harnisch's depression has been over since he returned to baseball last July and he feels as good as ever.
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