Vaughn Breaks Off Talks

Mo Vaughn, the American League’s Most Valuable Player, broke off talks with the Boston Red Sox on a long-term contract.

Vaughn was quoted as saying the deal was “95 percent done,” but Tom Reich, one of his two agents, said no further discussions were scheduled.

Vaughn, who can’t become a free agent until after the 1997 season, had said the monetary aspects of the contract were settled, according to Wednesday’s Boston Globe. The newspaper said all that remained was to agree on bonuses and whether the deal would run four or five years.

The first baseman has asked for $6.1 million for 1996 in arbitration, while the Red Sox filed for $4.2 million.

In other negotiations, Kansas City re-signed right-hander Hipolito Pichardo to a two-year contract worth $1.275 million. … Mark Lewis, who is scheduled to be the Detroit Tigers second baseman, will make $670,000 in 1996 after winning his arbitration case. … Colorado signed record-setting pinch hitter John Vander Wal to a $492,500, one-year contract, allowing the Rockies to avoid an arbitration hearing.