Arte Moreno: Angels discussing long-term deal with Jered Weaver

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Angels owner Arte Moreno said Wednesday his club has had discussions on a long-term deal with ace Jered Weaver.

Moreno declined to say anything about the status of the discussions, including whether they were still ongoing. Scott Boras, the agent for Weaver, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Weaver is eligible for free agency following the 2012 season. He has asked for $8.8 million in salary arbitration; the club has offered $7.45 million.

Moreno, whose relationship with Boras cooled after the Mark Teixeira negotiations in 2008, said he has ‘no interest’ in meeting directly with baseball’s most powerful agent. Moreno said General Manager Tony Reagins and other club executives could handle the Angels’ business with Boras.

Moreno declined even to use Boras’ name in his comments.

‘My mother always told me, ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,’ Moreno said.

Boras represents third baseman Adrian Beltre, whom the Angels did pursue this winter.

The Angels made multiple offers to Beltre, the last for five years at about $75 million. Beltre signed with the Texas Rangers, for five years and $80 million, with a sixth-year vesting option that could make the deal worth $96 million in all. The Angels offered a club option for a sixth year.

‘Getting to the fifth year was really tough for us,’ Moreno said. ‘We got to the fifth year. Then there was a sixth year. So we said, ‘OK, we’ll work on an option. We raised the dollar amount on the five years. We couldn’t get the deal done.

‘Everybody said, ‘You lost out.’ ... You’re going to have a 37-year-old third baseman. Our baseball people did not believe that was in the best interest of our team.’

Moreno also said the signing of Beltre would not have solved what the Angels considered a higher priority.

‘When you do a Beltre, you still have an outfield situation,’ Moreno said. ‘Beltre doesn’t take care of any kind of depth in the outfield.’

-- Bill Shaikin