Mariners
Will M's make a pitch for Pudge?

By Larry Stone
Seattle Times staff reporter

	CHARLES KRUPA / AP All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez could gain a new suitor once the Mariners settle Kazu Sasaki's contract.
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The departure of closer Kazu Sasaki opens a wealth of possibilities for the Mariners, and it seems probable that the first one they will explore seriously is All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez, if he's still on the market.

However, the Mariners are waiting until Sasaki's contract situation is resolved before delving any further than internal discussions about the pluses and minuses of pursuing the 10-time All-Star.

"We won't operate in hypotheticals," said general manager Bill Bavasi, refuting speculation that he has opened talks with Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras. "We don't deal with players that way. We're not in a position to do anything yet, and to intimate otherwise is absolutely unfair.

"Kaz made a request, and we're doing our best to accommodate him. If that creates a different operating environment, we'll attack that aggressively. But we're not there yet."

One baseball official close to the Sasaki situation predicted that the process of dissolving his contract, which has $9.5 million remaining, could be completed by next week. The players' union has promised not to contest the matter, which removes a major obstacle.

"This is not nearly as thorny an issue as people think," said Gene Orza, associate general counsel of the Major League Baseball Players Association.

The union, he said, will not seek termination pay once the Mariners release Sasaki, as had once been believed.

"I assure you the union will not be an obstacle in that matter, for either Sasaki or the Mariners," Orza said. "Once Tony (Attanasio, Sasaki's agent) and the Mariners come to an agreement, and all they're looking for is a waiver from the Players Association, that won't take more than half an hour."

Attanasio declined comment yesterday, but one person close to the situation said, "It appears there is no holdup, and we're moving ahead."

There appears to be definite interest from some in the Mariners' camp for a pursuit of Rodriguez, who helped the Florida Marlins win the World Series last year.

The question is whether Rodriguez, described by a member of Seattle's organization as "the one difference-maker left on the market," will still be available by the time Sasaki's contract situation is resolved.

The Detroit Tigers have been waiting for nearly a week for an answer from Rodriguez on their four-year, $40 million offer, and the Detroit Free Press reported in today's editions that Boras is going to make the club a new proposal tomorrow.

Boras declined comment yesterday, but he has to be delighted to have another potential bidder for Rodriguez. The longer Rodriguez puts off the Tigers, the more it appears that he has doubts about moving from a championship team to one that won just 43 games last year.

The 32-year-old Rodriguez, who hit .297 with 16 home runs and 85 runs batted in last year, was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1999 for Texas, was Florida's MVP in the National League Championship Series last fall, and has won 10 Gold Gloves as this generation's premier defensive catcher.

Rodriguez is on the free-agent market for the second consecutive winter. Last year, the Marlins swooped in unexpectedly to sign him to a one-year, $10 million contract on Jan. 22. The move paid strong dividends, as the man called Pudge helped stabilize a young Florida staff and was brilliant in the postseason.

He rejected Florida's reported three-year, $24 million offer this winter, however, and turned down a similar proposal from the Baltimore Orioles.

Detroit, desperate to regain credibility, even to the point of overpaying for free agents, swooped in last with its offer. The Mariners aren't likely to match the length of Detroit's proposal.

But it's possible that Rodriguez might accept a shorter deal for similar money to play for a contending team that features fellow Puerto Rican Edgar Martinez, who is idolized by his countrymen. It would be a strong answer by the Mariners to the division rival Anaheim Angels, who recently signed outfielder Vladimir Guerrero.

The Mariners already have three catchers: Ben Davis, who manager Bob Melvin has said will be given the opportunity to win the starting job, but hit just .140 after the All-Star break last year; veteran Dan Wilson, who hit .241 in 96 games in 2003; and Wiki Gonzalez, obtained from San Diego in the Jeff Cirillo trade.

If the Mariners signed Rodriguez, Davis would be a likely trade candidate, moving an additional $1.5 million in payroll. The 34-year-old Wilson, who will earn $3.5 million next year, is a "10 and 5" player — 10 years in the majors, the last five for one team — which gives him trade veto rights. Gonzalez is a non-roster player who is likely to start the year in the minor leagues.

Note

• Mariners consultant Pat Gillick, their former general manager, and top advisor Bob Engle will be in El Salvador today for the tryout of Cuban refugee Maels Rodriguez, a right-handed pitcher who reportedly has topped 100 mph with his fastball. Rodriguez's agent said last week that Rodriguez regards the Mariners as one of the leading candidates to sign him.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company