PEORIA – So what that Mariners pitchers and catchers reported A Seattle icon was causing all the buzz – while golfing 700 miles away.
Ken Griffey Jr. was in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California on Friday, still an unsigned free agent. And Mariners decision makers were still mum on whether a one-year deal with Seattle’s beloved “Junior” was imminent. New Mariners first baseman Russell Branyan is a former teammate of Griffey’s in Cincinnati. He said he was at Griffey’s home in Orlando, Fla., four weeks ago for a dinner as part of a charity golf event. “He told me he’d love to come back here. … I asked him if we were going to be teammates again. He seemed very open to it,” Branyan said. Then Branyan pointed to his left, at the locker vacated earlier in the day by veteran Mike Sweeney. Sweeney, who could lose at-bats as a designated hitter should Griffey arrive, is now immediately to Branyan’s right. That leaves two empty stalls on a corner of the clubhouse, the preferred setup for superstars and the same spot RBI leader Raul Ibanez had for years until he signed with Philadelphia this offseason. “Look, they moved Sweeney to clear space at the corner locker,” Branyan said while laughing and referring to Griffey, who is fifth all-time with 611 home runs. Seattle’s first full-team workout is Wednesday. That’s plenty of time for Griffey to finish his pro-am in California and come to Arizona to take a physical that would complete a new deal.
After the Chicago White Sox declined the $16.5 million option on Griffey’s contract, a return to Seattle for a fraction of the price, perhaps $5 million, seems possible. The Mariners are trying to drop their payroll to about $100 million, down from about $120 million last season.