Griffey status remains up in air, for now

ORLANDO, Fla. — Last week, Ken Griffey Jr. appeared headed to the Mariners.

On Tuesday, he seemed all but signed, sealed and delivered to the Braves.

But as of Wednesday, Griffey remained what he has been all winter — a free agent.

One, apparently, that is genuinely torn between those two teams, or miffed enough over news leaks to make the teams sweat a little longer. Or both.

One TV station, WSB in Atlanta, reported Wednesday afternoon that Griffey had picked the Mariners over the Braves.

However, Mariners president Chuck Armstrong not long before the TV report came out, was asked if the Mariners were still in the running.

"I have no idea," Armstrong said.

Armstrong said he has maintained phone contact with Griffey and his agent, Brian Goldberg.

"This is a very difficult decision for him," he said of Griffey.

Braves general manager Frank Wren also waited. "I think he's contemplating the decision, so we're waiting to see what he decides,"Wren said Wednesday. "Every indication we have is he's going to make a decision pretty shortly. When he does, we'll know."

Reporters showed up at the Braves' complex here at Disney World's Wide World of Sports wondering if Griffey would be in uniform for Atlanta's first full-squad workout.

Hank Aaron showed up to watch the practice, but Griffey — whose 611 home runs rank fifth on the career list, three slots behind the Braves' legend — was nowhere to be seen all day. At one point, a black SVU drove into the parking lot. Some reporters thought it might be Griffey, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Nor was any official announcement forthcoming on Griffey's decision. After the workout, Braves manager Bobby Cox said he expected to know something by Thursday.

"We still think, as Seattle does, that he has some playing left in him," Cox said.

The Braves were being careful Wednesday to not couch Griffey's signing as a fait accompli. There were rumblings that Griffey was upset Tuesday when it was widely reported that Griffey had chosen the Braves. At that point, he had not informed the Mariners of his decision, and he is keenly sensitive to antagonizing Seattle fans or management.

According to MLB.com, Griffey had little contact with Atlanta officials after that.

Could Griffey, after reportedly deciding that the lure of playing near his Orlando home was too great to pass up, still be convinced to sign with the Mariners?

A source close to the talks told The Seattle Times on Tuesday that Griffey had chosen the Braves and would receive a base salary of about $2 million and total compensation, including incentives, of between $2 million and $3 million.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution report Tuesday that Griffey had chosen the Braves was denied later in the day by Griffey.

Wren said Wednesday he believed Seattle was still in the running for Griffey's services.

"We're not going to put the cart before the horse," he said. "He has an emotional tie to Seattle, the club he came up with originally. I'm sure that's a strong deciding factor as well."

Wren said that Griffey has passed a physical administered by the Braves, and it is believed that he also passed a Mariners' physical. Griffey underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in October.

"We're comfortable with the health of his knee, based on the medical reports we have," Wren said.

Wren said he and Cox met with Griffey on Monday in Orlando — where Griffey lives — but there were apparently no face-to-face meetings Tuesday by the GM with either Griffey or his agent.

Broadcaster Harold Reynolds on MLB Network, who maintains a close relationship with his former Mariners' teammate, raised the notion on the air Wednesday that retirement could be an option for Griffey, 39.

Throughout the process, Braves' star Chipper Jones has served as a sounding board for Griffey, his teammate on the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic in 2006.

Jones said they've talked daily for the past week, and he remained confident that Griffey will be his teammate in 2009.

"All signs are good, but I'm not going to smile until he signs on the line," Jones said.

Asked if he believed Griffey was struggling with the decision, Jones said, "I didn't get that. I think he feels that he owes Seattle due respect, and said that he had to talk to their guys out there. That's all."

Jones said that Griffey has long told him of his desire to play for the Braves. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Griffey actually made the initial overture to the Braves' organization last week to tell them of his interest

"Every time we've talked, he's made some kind of comment like, 'Can I get a tryout in Atlanta?' or 'Are you ever going to get me to Atlanta?'" Jones said.

"I guess he thinks I got some pull over here. He's always wanted to play here. He loves Bobby [Cox]. He's got his opportunity now. Hopefully, he'll be patrolling left field pretty soon."

Elaborating on the lure of Cox, who has managed the Braves since 1990, Jones said:

"Don't kid yourself. Yeah, people come here to win, but they come here because of Bobby. That man is as beloved throughout the league as any manager you'll ever hear about. You'll never hear anyone say a bad word about him."

Jones believes Griffey would be perfect in Atlanta, where he would likely platoon with Matt Diaz and get some spot starts in center field. The Mariners eye him primarily as a designated hitter with some time in left field.

"I think Atlanta is right up his alley," Jones said. "A lot of people think — and I was one of them — that early in his career, he was high-maintenance. Earring, hat on backward, he wouldn't fit in here in Atlanta.

"But I can see it from afar — Junior's done a lot of growing up. I had a chance to play with him in the Classic in 2006. I was in the same clubhouse for two or three weeks, going out to dinner. He's down to earth and humble. He wants to go somewhere where he can feel comfortable and have fun. And I think he thinks this is the place."

Soon Griffey should finally tell the world if that place indeed is in Atlanta.

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