Sexson-to-Mariners said to be done
But team is not confirming that a deal is completed
By Jim Street / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Persistence might finally pay off for the Mariners in their pursuit of a run-producing free agent hitter at the Winter Meetings.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on its Web site Sunday night that the Mariners had reached a contract agreement with free agent slugger Richie Sexson. The newspaper, citing an anonymous team official, did not have details of the agreement, which it said was contingent upon Sexson passing a physical exam.

Several Major League sources told MLB.com on Sunday night that the Mariners were on the verge of signing Sexson to a multiyear contract and one agent said the deal already had been completed.

But a Mariners official said nothing has been finalized.

Sexson, who grew up in Vancouver, Wash., would definitely upgrade an offense that finished last in home runs and runs scored in the American League last season. The 6-foot-8 Sexson has hit 200 home runs -- including 45 in 2001 and 2003 -- during his six-plus Major League seasons.

Last season in Arizona, he was limited to just 23 games, however, because of a shoulder injury.

Getting a bonafide home run threat under contract definitely would provide a boost to an organization that came to the four-day Winter Meetings with the wherewithal (and cash) to spend on a top-of-the-line free agent.

Mariners officials, including president Chuck Armstrong and general manager Bill Bavasi, met with Sexson and is agent, Casey Close, Saturday afternoon and further negotiations continued Saturday night and again on Sunday.

Former Mariners general manager Pat Gillick is familiar with how the baseball business works, so he understands that even the best-laid plans can be slow developing.

He also knows that an organization eager to jump into the costly free agent market must have patience, something the Mariners have shown the past few days.

"The one thing you really have to prevent is getting frustrated," Gillick said. "You have your game plan, and course of action you want to take, and you have to stick to it. You know that in the free-agent market there are bumps along the road. It's not as if you are dealing with an amateur free agent that you have exclusive rights to."

With the Sexson deal still not announced, the Mariners have been riding a very bumpy road in Anaheim.

They have money to spend, are willing to spend it, but hadn't been able to find a free agent to accept millions of dollars. It is difficult to improve a team that lost 99 games when your money doesn't speak loudly enough.

On the next-to-last day of the meetings and a few hours before rumors of Sexson's possible signing started, Bavasi finally had something to celebrate. But he had to drive 70 miles.

That's the distance between the Anaheim Marriott and La Jolla, Calif., where he attended a birthday party for his 90-year-old father, Buzzie, a former Dodgers and Padres executive.

Before leaving the hotel, Bavasi said the Mariners had a "lot of discussions" on Sunday and sensed that some headway is being made in attempts to sign free agents and/or make trades.

"Every time you have a discussion, you are at least getting a step closer to a player," he said. "So we spent most of the day talking and it is getting us closer, but nothing that I can report."

He said "headway" was being made on both the free agent and trade markets, but wouldn't be more specific than that.

Besides courting Sexson, who turns 30 later this month, the Mariners are interested in first baseman Carlos Delgado (who reportedly wants $64 million over four years), third baseman Corey Koskie, and possibly third baseman Adrian Beltre. A potential trade materialized Saturday when the Mets and Mariners reportedly discussed a deal that would bring shortstop Kaz Matsui to Seattle for outfielder Randy Winn.

"A couple of discussions we had [Saturday] were interesting," Bavasi said, "but we're not close to a deal by any means. At least we have something interesting on the table, something to look at."

For most of the weekend, this has been a look-only convention for the Mariners -- and numerous other teams.

"It doesn't surprise me," Bavasi said earlier in the evening. "Things could happen all at once, but I'm not surprised with what has happened. The fact that nothing happened [Sunday] doesn't surprise me. It probably compares to other meetings."

Bavasi knew coming in that the Mariners could make several offers with no guarantees that any would be accepted.

"There are other clubs interested in the same players," said Gillick, who currently serves as a special consultant to Bavasi. "There are a lot of things a player has to take into consideration before he makes a decision."

The way Gillick sees it, "Bill is keeping his cool and staying the course and I think we're going to get a positive result one of these days."

Bavasi acknowledged that the Mariners' 99-loss season in 2004 has been "a little bit" of a detriment in dealings with prospective free agents.

"We have to do a bit of explaining, yes."

Gillick said, "I think players should view it as an opportunity. We have a lot of things going for us -- a good organization, good facility and good city. I think we are very attractive."

While management keeps its collective chin up, so does new manager Mike Hargrove.

Asked if the lack of action at the meetings makes him somewhat antsy, Hargrove said, "Not at all. It's a process that's going to take time and you have to be patient. Would I like to know in the next 15 minutes who the players are going to be? You bet. But that's not going to happen.

"This is a process that is going to take as much time as it needs to take. The good thing is that I know the people here involved in that process are working very hard to get things accomplished."

Renteria rumors pick up steam
Shortstop 'seriously considering' Tigers, agent says
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- The Tigers rumor that never seemed to die at the Winter Meetings gained life Sunday.
Free agent shortstop Edgar Renteria, once considered little more than an emergency option should Detroit miss out on a third baseman, is "definitely, seriously considering" the Tigers after talking with the club on Sunday, agent Jeff Lane told MLB.com. The sudden interest and even more sudden negotiations put a whole new aspect on the club's search for an additional bat to the lineup.

Renteria is currently at home in his native Colombia, but he talked by phone Sunday with assistant general manager Al Avila and All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez. Meanwhile, his representatives had discussions with Tigers officials at the Winter Meetings.

While Lane cautioned that the talks are still in a preliminary stage and "not close to being a deal," they're an intriguing change of course for someone who was seemingly headed for the Red Sox a day earlier.

But then, the Tigers' interest is something that only gained substance this weekend. Detroit was focused on a free agent third baseman up until a couple days ago, including pursuits of Troy Glaus and Corey Koskie that fell short. Glaus signed with the Diamondbacks earlier this week. On Sunday, Koskie seemed all but headed to the Blue Jays with a reported three-year deal worth as much as $18 million.

Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said they hadn't made as much progress with Koskie as they had with Glaus and center fielder Steve Finley, the latter of whom signed with the Angels on Friday. "We didn't feel comfortable with some of the parameters," Dombrowski said.

Lane would not confirm or deny whether the Tigers made Renteria an offer, while Dombrowski wouldn't confirm whether the Tigers had any interest at all. An industry source with knowledge of the situation said earlier Sunday that while the Tigers hadn't made a formal offer, they let it be known that they'd be willing to deal should Renteria show further interest.

Dombrowski hinted at that type of situation in general during his briefing with reporters Sunday night. "Sometimes you can imply you are going to make an offer," Dombrowski said, "but you don't necessarily make an offer, because maybe it doesn't make any sense for you to make an offer at that time."

The Tigers are one of four teams competing for Renteria, a four-time All-Star who is widely considered the top free agent shortstop. He batted .287 with 10 home runs and 72 RBIs for the Cardinals this past season, a year after he hit .330 with 13 homers and a career-best 100 RBIs. He is reportedly considering an offer from the Red Sox and the possibility of re-signing with St. Louis.

A large part of Detroit's appeal for Renteria would come from the group in charge. Renteria became an everyday player at the tender age of 20 for the Florida Marlins, then led by Dombrowski and Avila. He credits Avila for helping him adjust when he came to the United States.

If he came to Detroit, it would be the Tigers left adjusting. They already have an All-Star shortstop in Carlos Guillen, who hit .318 with 20 home runs and 97 RBIs this year after coming over from Seattle via trade in January. If Renteria joined the Tigers, Guillen would most likely convert to third base and Brandon Inge would shift to center field.

whygodeep

ESPN, Seattle Times, etc all reporting Sexson to Seattle is a done deal.

Koskie signed with the Blue Jays, wonder what this means for Eric Hinske? Move to first base?

I miss Sexson with the Brewers...he had the best songs played while walking up to the plate. He alternated between Pearl Jam and Nirvana each at bat.

I get a kick out of peoples' almost immediate surprise any time somone mentions the possibility of the Tigers signing a high profile free agent. It's no surprise Mike Illitch wants to increase payroll. People said he was stupid for signing Rodriguez for 4 years $40 million last year -- but Rodriguez hitting for .340 proved them wrong.

The Tigers have money; play in a weak division; have a fantastic fanbase; have incredible facilities; and, have an owner the players love. I'm telling you, they will sign at least two high profile free agents (Derek Lowe is still out there -- a Detroit native).

I really, really do not want Derek Lowe in Detroit. They'd be overpaying like mad for something they could get out of Nate Cornejo on most nights. Although, I was dead wrong about Rodriguez. Humph.

Completely agree. Their rotation is very respectable as it with Cornejo, Maroth, Bonderman, Knotts, Robertson and Johnson. With that said, they still need a legitimate No. 1 starter.

And Lowe is not a #1. Bonderman could be in a few years, he had quite a few dominating starts and he should arguably still be in Erie.

Not too mention Illitch has all that money freed up from the Wings this year. The NHL lockout could be everything the Tigers have dreamed of, an owner paying full attention to them.

I do agree with AS that Lowe is not the guy they need for the rotation. I really think he happened upon a hot streak in the playoffs and I wouldn't lay out the red carpet for him just yet.

I think that if they don't overpay for Lowe he could be a decent addition to that staff, so long as he has a good defense behind him.

I just don't see how they won't overpay for him. It's like 3 clinching games in the postseason have made peope forget about his mediocrity prior to that. If he was so amazing, why do Red Sox fans not seem to care if they lose him? I agree he's a good addition, just not for the cash I think will be thrown about in a bidding war for him.

No offense, but i was quite happy with that.

Dear People Discussing the Tigers...

A. You're Forgetting Wil Ledezma.
B. Nate Cornejo. Not very good. not very good at all. Check out the k/9 innings stats please. (i know Ks arent everything, but usually thats a telling stat)
c. The Tigers want to dump Johnson. Badly. He may be around next year, but not after that. That would leave the Tigers with ONE. count them ONE right handed starter. They need another. Preferably a groundball pitcher (epecially if they sign Renteria) who can pitch a lot of innings. They sign Lowe... watch for the Maroth/Urbina package to follow shortly there after (cubs maybe?)

Ledezma sucks. Cornejo sucks like black hole. Johnson is serviceable.
I'd like them to keep Maroth, I don't see Lowe as millions of dollars better than he is.

Ledezma Sucks? Are you drugs? He had the 2nd lowest ERA of any tigers starter (and the only one with an ERA under 4 in only his starts)....as a second year player. He also had the lowest WHIP... as a left hander at the age of... 23. Ledezma, Robertson, and Bonderman form a nice corps... (and hopefully Sleeth and Verlander)

Maroth has value, and i like him as a pitcher... but he is a young lefty who doesnt make much... Definately a tradeable commodity...

and to compare Lowe to Johnson is Downright moronic.
Johnson is 44-73, era of 4.95... who gives up too many homers.
Lowe is 72-59 with an era 3.88... in a hitters ballpark.
Yes lowe has pitched for better offensive teams (which helps the record... but not the ERA)... But up until the end oflast year, his defense was brutual... You put Lowe with the High Grass at Comerica with Renteria, Guillen, Infante and Pena, he will be very good.

Not on drugs. I have no faith in the Tigers to bring up young pitchers due to their abysmal track record. I'll believe it when he puts 3 good seasons together.

Then why not keep him? This is the same argument you're using for the other young pitchers.


We both know wins and losses mean jack. We both also know that Johnson didn't pitch in Comerica for his entire career, most of those numbers are from Camden..a notorious bandbox. ERA doesn't mean jack for that matter.
I'd take Johnson over Lowe given the choice. Lowe is too streaky and will command a ridiculous over-payment on his next contract.

I hate multi quoting.. so i will address each point by point.

I agree. The Tigers Development of young pitchers has been shitty... But dont forget... Ledezma was developed by other Organizations before the Tigers Drafted him Rule 5... and the only reason he was there was the Red Sox thought no one would take him because of arm problems. He has always been a top prospect... Dont say he sucks, cause he is among the most promising young pitchers in the american league... Ultimately he COULD suck.. but id say he has shown quite a bit in his brief time, especially in demeanor.

I dont WANT to get rid of Maroth.. However, i think he has higher trade value than robertson, and i think ledezma could be something pretty special. Maroth is never going to be more than a solid #3... But I think one of the lefties is expendable.. and Maroth would have the most trade value...

I cant figure out your liking of Johnson though. Wins are generally meaningless, but he has never had more than 10.. and hasnt won a game in september in 2 years.. i can only imagine what will happen if the Tigers get to a game in october. Not to mention he got a little whiny last year. Id rather have an inconsistant lowe than a consistantly Bad Jason Johnson... (im not factoring salary... but lowe is definatly a superior pitcher to johnson)

I think that would be the smart move rather than picking up another first baseman. That way they could save money for pitching.

As for Seattle, I've heard that they are trying to pick up both Delgado and Sexson. That would be an amazing 3-4 combo.