Belle Deal Collapses

The Cleveland Indians have rescinded their offer to Albert Belle, the Plain Dealer reported.

General manager John Hart told Belle’s agent, Arn Tellem, on Saturday that he was withdrawing the deal, said to be worth $39 million-$40 million over five years. According to the paper, Florida made the free agent outfielder a $38 million, four-year offer on Friday.

“We’ve been negotiating all week with Arn and Albert,” Hart was quoted as saying. “We’ve been very, very aggressive, but we’re making no progress. The free agent signing season is now open, and we can’t get aggressive with other free agents if we still have this offer on the table.”

Oakland catcher Terry Steinbach became the first player affected by the collapse of the proposed labor agreement to re-file for free agency.

Steinbach was among 34 free agents who reverted to their former clubs when baseball went back to the expired work rules Friday. The group was covered by the restriction against repeat free agency in a five-year span, a provision that would have been eliminated in the new deal, which owners rejected.

Owners had until Saturday to decide whether to offer salary arbitration to those players.