M's Notebook | Betancourt gets 3-year deal

The Mariners held a news conference on Wednesday to announce a contract extension for one of their starters.

No, it wasn't Ichiro, but the recipient, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, was delighted to be locked up with the Mariners through 2011.

"I felt this was the right time," said Betancourt, speaking through interpreter Fernando Alcala. "I felt comfortable with my team and my teammates, and since I felt comfortable, there was no need to wait any longer."

Betancourt received a three-year extension that includes a club option for 2012. Terms of the contract were not immediately available. Betancourt's current contract runs through 2008, paying him $400,000 this year and $450,000 next year.

The extension, if the option is exercised, would take Betancourt through the first year of his eligibility for free agency.

Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said the club had been contemplating an extension for awhile, but the deal didn't come together until Betancourt's agent, Jaime Torres, and Mariners attorney Bart Waldman met in Seattle the last few days.

"If you don't do deals like this, you get nailed going year to year," said Bavasi. "A lot of clubs have done this in the past. You trade security, and they give you some money back."

Betancourt, 25, signed originally with the Mariners in January 2005 after fleeing Cuba, receiving a $1.3 million signing bonus. Last season, his first full year in the majors, Betancourt played outstanding defense and hit .289 with eight homers and 47 runs batted in.

"He's got a chance to be complete player, not just a defensive player," Bavasi said. "He has a chance be a solid offensive player, too. He's not going to be a bottom-of-the-order guy."

Betancourt's mother and grandmother escaped Cuba this past winter. Asked the reaction of his family to the new contract, he said, "I would imagine they are going to be really happy, but up until today I didn't know much about it myself."

Said Bavasi: "It's real easy to assume, for me and others, everything is great for this guy. He's always so happy. But he's got things he worries about like everyone else. He's the breadwinner in his family — and he's just won a lot of bread."

From court to field?

The Mariners are hopeful that Betancourt's court appearance in Key West, Fla., this week will be his final involvement in the smuggling trial of agent Gustavo "Gus" Dominguez.

Betancourt has been subpoenaed to testify Friday, putting in question his availability for Friday's game in Cleveland against the Indians. After he testifies, Betancourt will fly to Cleveland, but it is possible he won't make it in time for the game, which is to begin at 4:05 p.m. local time.

"We won't know if he can make it or not until game time," Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said.

A Rhodes honor

Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday that any player who wants to do so will be allowed to wear uniform No. 42 on Sunday, April 15, when baseball honors the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major-league debut.

Look for Mariners pitcher Arthur Rhodes, who wears No. 53, to take Selig up on the offer.

"I'd love to do that," he said. "It would be great for me."

Baseball retired Robinson's No. 42 in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Robinson's entry in the majors, decreeing that it would never again be issued to on-field personnel.

Selig said in a news release that a request by Ken Griffey Jr. to wear No. 42 on April 15 prompted him to allow any interested player to do so.

Rhodes, returning to the Mariners for the first time since 2003, said he was moved by the rousing ovation he received on opening day.

"It made me feel great, man," he said. "It felt like I was back home again. I loved it. I can't wait get out there on the field and perform."

Note

• When Brandon Morrow appeared in the ninth inning on Tuesday, he became the second person from the 2006 draft to reach the major leagues. He is the only one currently up. Tigers pitcher Andrew Miller, who had a clause in his contract requiring a September call-up last season, is at Class A Lakeland.

Even though Morrow started his major-league career by walking the first Oakland batter on four pitches and then yielding a single, Hargrove was impressed by his poise. Morrow recovered to get the next three outs without giving up a run.

"He could have blown up real easy in the middle of all that, and he didn't," Hargrove said. "That was good."

For the record

Streak: L1

Home: 2-1

Road: 0-0

vs. AL West: 2-1

vs. Anaheim: 0-0

vs. Oakland: 2-1

vs. Texas: 0-0

vs. AL East: 0-0

vs. AL Central: 0-0

vs. NL: 0-0

vs. LHP: 0-0

vs. RHP: 2-1

Day: 1-0

Night: 1-1

One-run: 0-0

Extra innings: 0-0

Home attendance

Wednesday's crowd: 22,816

Season total: 94,106

Biggest crowd: 46,003 (Monday)

Smallest crowd: 22,816 (Wednesday)

Average (three dates): 31,369

2006 average (three dates): 28,990