Howell’s Case, Angels’ Last, Likely to Reach a Hearing

ANAHEIM — Jack Howell’s arbitration case, the last on the Angels’ schedule, is likely to go to a hearing, Angel senior vice president Dan O’Brien said Tuesday.

Howell, who hit .228 last season--and .167 with runners in scoring position--filed at $835,000. The Angels filed at $652,500, which was Howell’s 1990 salary. The third baseman’s hearing is scheduled Thursday in Chicago.

“I talked ever so briefly with Jim Bronner (Howell’s agent), and it just didn’t sound to me like it’s going to be resolved,” O’Brien said. “Bronner is tough to reach. It’s possible we might talk again, but it’s very unlikely.”

Bronner was traveling from Chicago to New York for another client’s hearing Tuesday and couldn’t be reached for comment.

Of the nine Angels who were scheduled to have hearings, only first baseman Wally Joyner went through the process. He won his case, getting a salary of $2.1 million. The other eight settled before their hearings.