Guante, Acker Sign Before Deadline

NEW YORK — Cecilo Guante and Jim Acker, the last two free agents facing the Jan. 8 deadline, agreed Sunday to return to their former clubs.

Guante and the Texas Rangers agreed to a 1-year contract for $425,000, a raise from the $380,000 he made in 1988.

Acker agreed to a minor league contract with Atlanta. But he and the Braves also agreed to a side letter that says the Braves will sign him to a $250,000 contract if he makes the opening day roster.

Guante, 28, was 5-6 with a 2.82 earned-run average and a career-high 12 saves in 1988 for the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers.

He is 21-25 with 33 saves in 7 major-league seasons, pitching for Pittsburgh, the Yankees and Texas.

Acker, 30, was 0-4 last season with a 4.71 ERA and made $435,000. The right-hander is 24-33 in 6 major league seasons.

Sunday’s deadline was for those free agents who rejected their former clubs’ offers of salary arbitration.

In 1986, outfielder Kirk Gibson agreed to a new contract with Detroit at the midnight deadline. In 1987, eight free agents went past the deadline, only to find a free-agent boycott that forced all except outfielder Andre Dawson and catcher Lance Parrish to return to their former clubs.