Rays launch pursuit of Piniella

Club officials contact Seattle to begin talking compensation for making him manager.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published October 16, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- If Lou Piniella wants to come home to manage the Devil Rays, the team appears prepared to make a serious effort to strike a deal.

The Rays took the first step in the process Tuesday by officially informing the Mariners they want to talk to Piniella and are willing to negotiate the necessary compensation to proceed.

"The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have contacted the Seattle Mariners concerning the possibility of Lou Piniella becoming our next field manager," Rays general manager Chuck LaMar said. "It's obvious the Seattle Mariners are looking for compensation, and we will have ongoing conversations with them concerning that matter."

The Mets also contacted the Mariners as did a third team, believed by some baseball officials to be the Cubs, that requested confidentiality.

If Piniella, as agent Alan Nero said, is seriously interested in coming to the Rays, the compensation matter appears to be their biggest issue. The Rays are believed to be eager and committed to signing Piniella and prepared to make a competitive multiyear offer, which probably would mean an annual salary in excess of the $2.5-million he was to make with the Mariners.

The final decision may be left to Piniella.

Seattle president Chuck Armstrong said more than one team may get permission to talk with Piniella, allowing the 59-year-old Tampa native to decide -- assuming the Rays are serious -- if he wants to be close to home or merely closer to home.

"We think the decision is really Lou's," Armstrong told the Times. "We'd like to do anything we can to help Lou out and give him as many options as we can."

Nero said Piniella "hopes both the Devil Rays and the Mets are interested and get by the compensation issue. We've been assured (by the Mariners) that won't be a problem, but we don't know that."

Rather than accept offers, the Mariners will make an initial proposal to each team, possibly as soon as today.

"We'll make requests of them; otherwise we'd get a player they were planning to release at the end of the year from the Florida State League or something," Armstrong said. "We'll tell them what we think is reasonable and appropriate and they'll tell us what they think. ... There'll be some back-and-forth."

Armstrong said the Mariners would prefer players over money but will be flexible.

He also said their demands could be different from team to team, a potential benefit to the Rays in a competition with the high-revenue Mets. For example, he said they might ask one team for cash but not another.

"It depends on the club," Armstrong said. "It depends if we can satisfy ourselves with players."

The Mariners biggest needs at the major-league levels are for a left-handed power-hitting outfielder and starting pitcher. But that doesn't mean the Rays can make the deal for Ben Grieve. The Mariners acknowledged there might not be a match with the interested teams. Plus, they may be more interested in acquiring young players or prospects.

"Seattle assured me they'll be very reasonable and their motive is to be expeditious because they have their own field manager issue," Nero said.

But Mariners officials, including Armstrong, will be involved in year-end organizational meetings starting today in Arizona. Besides deciding what they want in compensation for Piniella, they have to proceed with hiring his replacement, reportedly having their eye on San Francisco's Dusty Baker.

Nero said "my guess" is the compensation issues will be settled today, but there is a chance it will take several days. Then the teams still have to talk to Piniella and try to negotiate a contract, making it less likely a deal could be completed before Saturday's start of the World Series. Teams are prohibited from making major announcements during the Series and the Mariners are coordinating the process through the commissioner's office.

Nero said there will be a lot to talk about.

"This is the last contract Lou probably will do and it will be a major decision," Nero said. "He'll have to come to some conclusion that philosophically there is some agreement on what direction the franchise is going and some agreement philosophically on their part that he's capable of meeting their goals. I don't think it's a simple thing."

Nero said the Mets may have an advantage in terms of finances and marketplace, but the Rays have the benefit of location ("There's no place like home," he said) and offering Piniella an interesting challenge. He said Piniella's comfort level with each organization will be key.

Rays senior vice president/general counsel John Higgins called the Mariners early Tuesday to officially express their interest and managing general partner Vince Naimoli, who is in Mexico on other business, made a second call late Tuesday afternoon.

The Mets issued a statement confirming that owner Fred Wilpon contacted the Mariners and that Armstrong would get back to them "quickly."

They also said, "Assuming an agreement on compensation is reached, it is expected that Piniella will be interviewed shortly thereafter."

That may not go over too well with Piniella.

"An interview?" Piniella said when the possibility was mentioned. "I've been managing 15 years. I'll be happy to talk to people. But an interview? I don't think so."

Meanwhile, Triple-A manager Bill Evers interviewed for the opening Tuesday, spending about four hours talking with LaMar.

"I thought things went well," Evers said. "It was a situation where I was grateful for the opportunity to go ahead an interview for the job."

Evers, 48, has worked for the Rays since October 1995 and has been extremely successful at Durham, winning division titles from 1998-2000 and this year's International League championship with many of the young players now on the big-league roster.

Evers said his history with LaMar made the interview process easier. "I felt more comfortable around him," Evers said. "There were some questions that I'd never been asked before that I got to voice my opinions on."

Evers is the fifth candidate to interview, following Rays coaches Billy Hatcher and Tom Foley and Yankees coaches Lee Mazzilli and Willie Randolph. Oakland bench coach Ken Macha is scheduled to interview Friday, and LaMar has said he planned to interview several others. Dodgers third-base coach Glenn Hoffman and Twins Triple-A manager John Russell may be on that list.