A-Rod Prefers To Wait

Seattle Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who already has declared he won’t sign a contract extension with his new team if he is traded, will not negotiate with the Mariners until after next season, his agent said.

“We are not going to talk about money or a contract until after 2000. That’s clear. He just wants to see how the team plays, given a full winter,” to improve its roster, said Scott Boras, who met with Rodriguez in Miami last weekend.

However, Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said Boras’ comments wouldn’t prevent him from trying to meet with Rodriguez and the agent in Miami next month.

“I’m looking right past that,” Armstrong said. “We look forward to sitting down with them and discussing it.”

Rodriguez, 24, a three-time allstar who hit .285 with 42 homers and 111 RBIs this season, will make $4 million next year - the last of a four-year, $10.5 million deal. The M’s have offered him an eight-year contract worth more than $15 million per year.

The Mariners had requested a response to their offer by a specific date, believed to be mid-November. Rodriguez has said he wants proof the team will make the moves necessary to become a contender.

Center fielder Ken Griffey Jr.’s contract also runs out at the end of next season. But Griffey, unlike Rodriguez, has enough major league service to veto a trade. Rodriguez emphasized Tuesday he wasn’t interested in being traded.

“When you sign a four-year deal, you don’t want to be there three years or three-and-a-half years. The ball’s in their court, and they have to do what they please, but I want to be a Mariner,” he said.

More money for Martinez

Edgar Martinez, who was eligible for free agency, agreed Wednesday to a $5.9 million, one-year contract with the Mariners.

The 36-year-old designated hitter, who made $3.5 million this year, gets a $150,000 signing bonus and a $5.25 million salary next season. The Mariners have a $5.5 million option for 2001 with a $500,000 buyout.

Martinez has led the Mariners in batting six times. He finished fourth in the league this season with a .337 average, raising his career mark to .320.

Attorney taken aback

A lawyer for the Mariners said the team is “shocked” that the Public Facilities District would send a yearlong dispute over final payments on Safeco Field to a dispute resolution board.

The M’s are wrangling over $1.8 million in the final payment while 28 subcontractors remain unpaid until the dispute is settled.

Court rules against Mesa

Police in a Cleveland suburb didn’t violate policy when they searched an unlocked compartment in M’s pitcher Jose Mesa’s car and found a gun, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Columbus.

The court ruled 6-1 that Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Curran erred when he ruled in 1997 that police in Lakewood violated a city policy by conducting the search. Mesa played for the Cleveland Indians at the time.

Police found Mesa’s 9mm handgun Dec. 27, 1996, after he was arrested on sex abuse charges based on allegations of two women. A jury acquitted Mesa of charges of rape, gross sexual imposition and theft.