Major League Baseball
MLB notebook: Mets offer front-office job to Expos' Minaya

By Seattle Times news services

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MIAMI — The Mets have offered a front-office position to Omar Minaya and intend to appoint Jim Duquette as permanent general manager, a person close to Minaya told Newsday yesterday.

Minaya remains a candidate for GM jobs in Seattle and Cincinnati, and although returning home to New York would be his top choice, Minaya apparently is undecided on sharing the baseball responsibilities with Duquette.

Minaya received the Mets' offer last week and was in Cincinnati yesterday for a second interview with the Reds. The problem with the Mets' plan is that it is not the one Minaya envisioned, a second person familiar with the situation said. Minaya, who built two winning teams in Montreal with limited finances, is not comfortable with sharing the final say on the acquisition of players after wielding total control.

The Mets want Minaya to be more of a scouting specialist, similar to Gene Michael's role with the Yankees, with Duquette handling the administrative side as GM. Duquette was promoted ahead of Minaya when they worked together with the Mets, but Minaya evidently believes his success in Montreal justifies a higher position than his former colleague.

Minaya and Duquette worked under Steve Phillips until Minaya became Expos GM before the 2002 season. Duquette was named interim Mets GM after Phillips' firing in June. Hiring Minaya for a scouting-related position would not stand in the way of Duquette getting the permanent title. The Mets' plan is for Minaya and Duquette to wield equal power, below chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and his father, Fred, the principal owner.

Notes

• Expos players will be asked today if they would reconsider an earlier rejection of plans to play 20 home games outside the Canadian city next season, the No. 2 official of the players' union said.

Gene Orza, general counsel of the Major League Baseball Players' Association, said changes in the plan would be discussed in a conference call.

He wouldn't discuss details but said the schedule for next season, already printed, provided a chance for all 20 games to be played before the All-Star break in July. Playing some games in August and September in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this season upset the players.

• Oakland released OF Chris Singleton, declining to exercise its $1.8 million option for 2004. Oakland paid a $200,000 buyout to release Singleton, who batted a career-low .245 with one homer and 36 runs batted in in his first season with the A's. He signed with Oakland as a free agent last December, making $1.4 million.

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