Mariners May Get Called Out if Griffey’s Agent Talks to Reds

The Seattle Mariners gave Ken Griffey Jr.’s agent permission Tuesday to talk directly with the Cincinnati Reds, apparently breaking baseball’s rules in an attempt to end a trade impasse.

Until now, the Mariners had insisted that Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, could not talk to the Reds about contract matters. Griffey will make $8.25 million this season, then become eligible for free agency.

With trade talks stalled and the start of spring training approaching, Mariner President Chuck Armstrong changed the team’s position.

“Chuck Armstrong was nice enough this morning to give me permission to generally speak to the Reds to try to bring some closure to Junior’s situation prior to spring training,” Goldberg said.

Under baseball’s rules, teams may not talk with players under contract to other clubs. Baseball’s procedure calls for teams to agree to the players who would be involved in a trade, then ask the commissioner’s office for a 72-hour window to allow the acquiring team to negotiate a new contract with the player.

Baseball said permission had not been granted to the Mariners and Reds for a window involving a Griffey trade and that contact between Goldberg and Cincinnati was not allowed.

“If that, indeed, did happen, then we’re going to have to investigate it,” baseball spokesman Rich Levin said.

Baseball said it was stepping up enforcement of the rule after it was broken in the Roger Clemens trade from Toronto to the New York Yankees.

Commissioner Bud Selig, Armstrong and the two general managers involved--Seattle’s Pat Gillick and Cincinnati’s Jim Bowden--did not return calls seeking comment.

Griffey told the Mariners in November that he wanted to be traded to a team closer to his home in Orlando, Fla. The next month, Griffey said he would accept a trade only to Cincinnati, the city where he grew up.

Griffey turned down a $148-million, eight-year offer from the Mariners last summer.

*

A request by the Reds to invite Pete Rose to a ceremony honoring the 1975 World Series champions was denied by Selig.

Selig allowed Rose to participate in a ceremony last October honoring baseball’s all-century team, but turned down Cincinnati’s request to bring Rose to June 3 festivities honoring the team that beat the Boston Red Sox in a seven-game World Series.

“It’s part of the ban,” Levin said. “We made an exception for the all-century team and only for that instance.”

*

Justin Baughman, among the many candidates to play second base and bat leadoff for the Angels, was cleared for baseball activities after a recent series of workouts, according to a team official.

Baughman, who broke his left leg in five places in a Mexican League game in the winter of 1998-99, spent all of last season on the disabled list.

General Manager Bill Stoneman had signed Carlos Garcia, Scott Spiezio, Jason Bates, Pat Kelly and Benji Gil in the hope that one of them could do the job. Trent Durrington also will be in camp.