CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Persistence paid off for the Cleveland Indians in their pursuit of Chuck Finley.

After failing to acquire him from the Anaheim Angels at the July 31 trading deadline, the Indians today agreed to a three-year contract with the free agent lefthander.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Finley will earn $26 million.

The Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles were among the other teams interested in Finley. Among the top free agent pitchers available this winter, along with Aaron Sele of Texas, Finley was believed to be asking for about $10 million per season.

While Finley apparently has come up short in that demand, he still obtained a three-year deal, a lengthy contract for a pitcher who turned 37 last month.

"Chuck Finley is a tremendous addition to our ballclub who will fortify our starting rotation for the 2000 season and beyond," Indians general manager John Hart said. "Chuck gives us the dominant, lefthanded starting pitcher we have been seeking for the last several years. He is an accomplished, veteran pitcher who knows his way around the American League."

Finley becomes the first regular southpaw starter for the Tribe since Greg Swindell in 1991 and joins a staff that includes ace Bartolo Colon along with Charles Nagy, Dave Burba and Jaret Wright. Last month the Tribe signed Danys Baez, a Cuban righthander who could be on the major league roster next season.

While the Indians scored a major league high 1,009 runs last season and have won the AL Central each of the last five years, a shortage of quality starters has kept them from their first World Series title since 1948.

Their injury-plagued staff unraveled in the playoffs last season, allowing 44 runs in the final three games of a Division Series loss to Boston.

The Tribe feels it has addressed those needs in acquiring Finley, a two-time 18-game winner and a four-time All-Star.

Finley was 12-11 with a complete game and a 4.43 ERA in 33 starts last season. He ranked second in the AL with 200 strikeouts and won seven of his last eight decisions.

While his record was mediocre, Finley pitched on a team that scored just 711 runs, the second-lowest total in the major leagues.

Finley had spent his entire 14-year career with the Angels, a tenure that ended last week when the club was prevented from offering him arbitration. The Angels will receive no compensation for losing the pitcher.

Finley ranks first on the Angels' all-time lists for wins (165), games pitched (436), starts (379) and innings (2,675). He is second behind Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan with 2,464 strikeouts and is seventh among active pitchers overall behind Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson in that category.

Finley made $5.8 million in the final year of his four-year contract. He was courted strongly by the New York Yankees after the 1995 season before re-signing with the Angels.

One prime attraction of Finley was his success against the World Series champion Yankees, a possible postseason opponent for Cleveland. He has a 16-9 career mark against the Yankees, including 1-1 record and a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings last season.

Finley made his major league debut with the Angels in 1986 and owns a career record of 165-140 and a 3.72 ERA. He posted 18-9 records in 1990 and 1991 and had a career-best 2.40 ERA in 1990.

Earlier this month, the Indians re-signed pitcher Mark Langston, a friend of Finley and his former teammate in Anaheim.