Mariners
Who'll replace Cammy? Winn set for center, but M's have options

By Bob Finnigan
Seattle Times staff reporter

	JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Mike Cameron, cut loose by the M's on Sunday, manned center field at Safeco Field for four seasons after being acquired from Cincinnati in the Ken Griffey Jr. trade.
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If Mariners fans are putting down their projected 2004 Opening Day lineup anytime soon, they may want to write Randy Winn's name in pencil.

As of Sunday night when the club disconnected Mike Cameron, Winn is the Seattle center fielder. But not even he is sure if that will hold up.

"I guess I'm moving to center, but I haven't heard anything for certain," said Winn, who played left field last year, hit .295 and was one of the club's few effective performers when it counted down the stretch. "One thing I've learned in this game is that you can't predict anything, but I know the team has some budgetary constraints and I'm open to anything, from a multiyear contract to a non-tender situation."

For certain, the Mariners will try to ascertain what Winn, who made $3.3 million last season and could get more than a 50-percent raise in arbitration, will cost them before it ever comes to arbitration.

In fact, Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said Sunday, "After the winter meetings, we'll see if we actively need to be pursuing another outfielder. I think our choice, and Randy's choice, is to try to put together some sort of pre-tender deal."

He was referring to the Dec. 20 date for tendering contracts. Should Seattle be unable to settle on a reasonably solid salary figure for Winn, he could be non-tendered, which would render him a free agent, open to sign with anyone, including the Mariners.

Seattle officials could explore other options before Dec. 20, and with the annual winter meetings this weekend in New Orleans, they can be expected to find out what an offensive upgrade in center field would cost them in a trade.

This is not to say the Mariners still are considering a return of Ken Griffey Jr. What had been a distant possibility on Griffey coming back when the offseason began is a dead issue.

To sum up big-name/big money matters: Seattle will not be involved in any trade for 1) Griffey; 2) Pittsburgh's pricey catcher Jason Kendall; 3) Mariners minor-leaguer Mike Garciaparra's older bother, Nomar, should the Red Sox-Rangers megaswap of Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez come true.

But moving on another center fielder could become a reality, if Seattle's efforts to sign shortstop Miguel Tejada fail in the club's reluctance to enter a bidding situation with Baltimore, Anaheim and Los Angeles, all clubs with money to spend and said to have an interest in Tejada.

If the Mariners miss on Tejada, they will have to find a way to produce more than 795 runs, which was seventh in the American League last year and 70 runs fewer than the average 865 scored by the six teams ahead of them.

With Raul Ibanez replacing Cameron in the outfield threesome, the Mariners are only marginally improved offensively. Both had 18 homers last year, although Ibanez, who had 90 runs batted in and 95 runs scored to Cameron's 76/74, has a shot at more, with the ball going out well to right in Safeco Field.

In what is purely hot-stove stuff at this point, Seattle could investigate how serious the Cardinals are about moving Jim Edmonds, how much the Red Sox want to trade Johnny Damon or Trot Nixon and/or how much Minnesota wants to part with Jacque Jones.

Those players have been rumored to be in play all winter.

The cheapest route in terms of money would cost the most in players given up, including going back to the Yankees to see if Alfonso Soriano could be pried loose — something Seattle tried previously this fall when New York rejected a Freddy Garcia-Soriano swap and asked for Rafael Soriano in the deal.

When it comes to free-agent outfielders, there are a handful of players available, with Jose Cruz Jr. the only one with much experience in center field.

Others include Vladimir Guerrero, whose salary projects to impossible (offers of $15 million have been rumored from Montreal and Baltimore), and Reggie Sanders. Like Boston's Nixon, these two would play right field, with the Mariners moving Ichiro to center field, which manager Bob Melvin has said he prefers not to do.

Topping all conjecture, Seattle could approach Kansas City, as a number of clubs already have, to ask about Carlos Beltran, the best center fielder who may be available, with 26 home runs, 100 RBI and 41 stolen bases last year and superb defense to go with them.

The hang up is that Beltran, arbitration-eligible now and eligible for free agency after the 2004 season, figures to go to the $10 million to $12 million range, where the M's fear to tread.

While Nixon would be a cheaper way to go (although he is due to go from $4 million to $6 million in arbitration) and is a team leader who would give the Mariners some of the emotion they badly lacked last season, Edmonds' situation could end up the most intriguing.

When both were with the Angels, Bavasi and Edmonds had a strong relationship, and to move him, especially if Seattle parts with the right pitching prospects, St. Louis might include some money in the deal. The Mariners might require that since Edmonds has seasons left at $8 million, $10 million and $12 million.

Cruz could be an interesting way to go, a switch-hitter who hit 20 homers while playing half his games in tough Pac Bell Park last year. He made $2.5 million.

While Cruz is a quiet sort, the Mariners are also more familiar with their former No. 1 draft pick than any other player on the list.

Yet if something can be worked out with Winn, the Mariners talk confidently of his ability to move back to center, where he played some of his seasons in Tampa Bay. The outfielder is confident of that, too.

"I can make the adjustment," Winn said. "It should only take me a spring camp to be ready for center, and I hope it's with Seattle. I love the town and the team. I'd love to play there again."

Schedule released

The Mariners' 2004 schedule, announced yesterday, featured several revisions.

Foremost was that due to changes requested by Major League Baseball, Cincinnati, with Griffey, will not be visiting Safeco Field for a three-game series June 11-13.

With Cincinnati and Cleveland asking to have a permanent interleague rivalry, MLB found those dates were the only ones available for a Reds-Indians matchup, with Montreal switching a series that weekend from Cleveland to Seattle.

In addition, a visit to Tampa Bay was moved from Aug. 16-19 to Aug. 6-8, flip-flopped with a visit to Kansas City, Mo., to ease the travel schedule. Aug. 16 was changed to an off day.

Also, Opening Day at Safeco against the Angels was moved back from Monday, April 5, to Tuesday, April 6, with that original first game moved to an open date on Sept. 13.

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

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company