Mariners
M's offer Tejada 3-year contract

By Bob Finnigan
Seattle Times staff reporter

	Miguel Tejada
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While still trying to figure out if they can sign relievers Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Arthur Rhodes and center fielder Mike Cameron, the Mariners have started trying to man the left side of the infield.

To that end, the Mariners are believed to have offered Oakland free-agent shortstop Miguel Tejada a contract thought to be three years at $24 million to $25 million, with an option for a fourth year.

They have not gotten that far with Kazuo Matsui, Japanese free-agent shortstop. Various New York papers said the Mets offered a three-year deal similar to the one signed by the Yankees' Hideki Matsui (no relation) for $21 million.

"It appears, if that news is right, that Matsui will be a Met," a Mariners source said.

Should the Mets' intentions, which reportedly include moving young star Jose Reyes to second base to make room for Matsui, not work out, Seattle could get involved.

The Mariners seemingly have developed a preference list in which Tejada is ahead of Matsui, ostensibly because Tejada is a known quantity. The former MVP can provide some of the power the Mariners sorely lacked in 2003.

While they know Matsui is faster and a better defender, talents which translate to good play on either side of the Pacific Rim, they expect that whatever deficiencies Tejada displays on defense he will more than make up for in emotion.

Then, as one American League scout put it, "The Mariners may want to upgrade at short, but they can't be desperate. They already have a pretty good guy there (Carlos Guillen)."

That slant is offset by a second scout, who noted toward the end of the last season, "Guillen gives you a lot of what you want, but he only gives you 300-400 at-bats. A team needs their shortstop in there every day."

Guillen has averaged 128 games the past three seasons. This year he missed much of July and August with an inflamed pelvis, then went to third base when he returned to the lineup.

Jeff Cirillo is due for a deal or simple deletion from the roster, a move that will give chief executive officer Howard Lincoln $16 million worth of heartburn. Failing all else, Seattle could make a goal of signing San Francisco free agent Rich Aurilia for either short or third base.

While Aurilia, who made $5.25 million last season at the end of a multi-year deal, has missed time the past two years — averaging 522 at-bats to Guillen's 432 the past two seasons — he is recognized as one of the game's team-leader types. Aurilia averaged 21 home runs the past five years, including a career-high 37 in 2001.

"The Mariners called early on," said Barry Axelrod, Aurilia's agent. "They said they could get back to us, depending on whether XYZ fell into place for them."

Axelrod said Seattle may have been one of the four or five teams that asked if his client would be willing to move positions, meaning third base.

On the Tejada front, the Detroit Tigers have said they are willing to overpay to bring in the 2002 American League MVP, who hit 34 home runs that season.

However, paying heed to their payroll budget, the Mariners are unlikely to get drawn into a bidding situation of any length.

They are likely to use second baseman Bret Boone's contract (three years, $24 million, plus a $9 million team option for 2005) as a yardstick for money and years. In addition to being a legitimate MVP candidate in two of his three Seattle seasons, he is the leader of the team, its fulcrum on offense and defense, the rare combo of Silver Slugger and Gold Glove.

If the Mariners give out big money for a shortstop or third baseman, they could look for another piece for the left side of the infield from the group of players who will not be tendered contracts, starting Dec. 20, or they could look inside the organization.

Sunday is the deadline for teams to offer salary arbitration to their free agents. If the Mariners decide not to offer Cameron arbitration — and they're unlikely to do so — they would have to sign him before Sunday to keep him in Seattle.

Bob Finnigan: 206-464-8276 or bfinnigan@seattletimes.com

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