Mariners busy, but no deals done yet

12/07/2005
DALLAS -- The Mariners continued a busy Winter Meetings on Tuesday, conversing with multiple clubs about multiple players and continuing their search for starting pitching and a left-handed bat.
No deals were struck, but certain names continued to resurface during the course of another hectic day in the lobby of the Wyndham Anatole.
The Mariners flatly denied that they had offered free agent starter Kevin Millwood a deal Monday, which was reported by several news outlets, but they did meet with Millwood's agent, Scott Boras, late Tuesday afternoon.
One industry source said the Mariners met with free agent outfielder Carl Everett on Monday afternoon, and USA Today Sports Weekly reported that a deal with the veteran outfielder/designated hitter could be coming soon. A call to Everett's agent, Larry Reynolds, was not returned.
Meanwhile, Barry Axelrod, the agent for free agent right-hander Matt Morris, said the Mariners were still in the mix, having made an offer Monday afternoon that was "competitive for where we are right now and keeps them in the game."
Morris also is being pursued by his most recent team, the St. Louis Cardinals, in addition to the San Francisco Giants and possibly the Texas Rangers.
By Tuesday evening, though, the Cardinals didn't seem too confident about re-signing Morris.
"As I understand the market, talking to his agent, the market has developed and I believe it's probably developed beyond where we feel comfortable," Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty said. "But we haven't closed it out. Put it that way."
Giants GM Brian Sabean also seemed to express some reservations about his club's chances.
"I don't want to characterize where they might think it stands, but I'll paraphrase: It's very slow-moving," Sabean said. "You can draw your own conclusions."
Bavasi indicated that the Mariners wouldn't mind adding more than one pitcher, saying, "By the time we get to Spring Training, I would like to change out the starting pitching a little bit."
Also, Ron Shapiro, the agent for righty Scott Elarton, said the Mariners had shown "preliminary interest" in his client.
Bavasi said the Mariners were "very hopeful" about talks with their own free agent lefty, Jamie Moyer, who is representing himself.
"I think there's a market out there for him and I don't think we're the only suitor," Bavasi said. "We're pursuing him like others might."
The Mariners have until 9 p.m. PT on Wednesday night to decide to offer or not offer Moyer arbitration.
They'll have another decision to make in the coming weeks with arbitration-eligible right-hander Gil Meche. The pitcher banked over $2.5 million last year and could command a salary of over $4 million in 2006, making him a candidate to be non-tendered on the Dec. 19 date or traded.
An American League West executive speculated that Meche could be dealt for a Minor Leaguer, possibly to Texas.
Other bats on the Mariners' radar are outfielders Jacque Jones and Jeromy Burnitz.
A baseball source said he expected the Mariners to tender an offer to Jones on Wednesday and that the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles were contenders as well.
Burnitz's agent, Howard Simon, was scheduled to meet with Bavasi late Tuesday night.

Source: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/