Mariners Plan To Keep Dynamic Duo

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

December 10, 1998 / 10:38 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

Seattle made a small move Thursday, signing catcher Tom Lampkin to a $1.55 million, two-year contract.

But the bigger news was that the Mariners are talking about contract extensions to Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, deals that would be worth $60 million to $70 million each.

There was no announcement by the team of the offers, which were reported in Thursday's editions of The Seattle Times. General manager Woody Woodward was traveling to the winter meetings and could not be contacted.

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Griffey was offered a five-year contract and Rodriguez a seven-year deal during September talks, the newspaper said. Both are eligible for free agency after the 2000 season, and other general managers expect them to command deals averaging $15 million a year or more.

The Times said both players were noncommittal in talks with the Mariners and had told the team they were concerned about its future makeup, a move that led to a temporary halt in the negotiations.

Seattle traded Randy Johnson last July but moves into a new retractable-roof ballpark next summer.

"The Mariners got their park and now they've got to put people in it," Griffey told the Times. "This is a make-or-break year for us, the most important year. After that, I'm not saying I'd want to go through another time where we rebuild, then I'm getting too old for that. I don't want to have the Mariners in a situation wher they might sign one or two or us and say they can't do any more."

The Mariners have been criticized in Seattle for not making improvements since the end of the season. After slumping to a 76-85 record and a third-place finish in the AL West, they signed free agent Jose Mesa to be their closer after losing Mike Timlin to the Baltimore Orioles.

"I only want to play for an aggressive owner," Rodriguez told the newspaper. "If I do, it's an easy decision to stay. If not, it's a tough decision."

Brian Goldberg, Griffey's agent, and Scott Boras, Rodriguez's agent, could not be reached for comment.

Griffey, who has hit 56 home runs in each of the past two seasons, will earn $8.25 million in 1999 and $8.25 million in 2000. Rodriguez, who last season became the third player in major league history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season, will earn $3 million in 1999 and $4.25 million in 2000.

Lampkin, who gets a $200,000 signing bonus and salaries of $500,000 in 1999 and $850,000 in 2000, hit .231 this year with six homers and 28 RBI in 216 at-bats. The 34-year-old catcher can earn $100,000 a year in performance bonuses: $25,000 each for 75, 90, 100 and 115 games.

"Tom has mixed feeling leaving St. Louis, especially after the excitement of last year and his friendship with Mark McGwire," said Lampkin's agent, Jeff Moorad. "That having been said, he gets a chance to go home to a city he grew up in. He was actually once a clubhouse boy for the Mariners."