Larkin to Remain With the Reds

Six days after Barry Larkin turned down their take-it-or-leave offer, the Cincinnati Reds re-signed their captain for 2004.

Larkin and John Allen, the team’s chief operating officer, met during the Reds’ season-ending 2-1 loss to Montreal on Sunday, and they agreed to a $700,000, one-year contract that allows the shortstop to earn an additional $300,000 in performance bonuses.

Larkin, completing a $27-million, three-year deal, had turned down a $500,000 offer Sept. 22, which appeared to signal the end of his 18-year career with his hometown team.

Larkin, upset more by the way the situation was handled than by the actual figures, called Allen on Saturday night.

“My desire is to be here, to help groom the next shortstop, to move up into the front office, to stay rooted to Cincinnati,” Larkin said.

Larkin and Allen credited Montreal Manager Frank Robinson with helping them get back together. Robinson spent his first 10 seasons as a player with the Reds.

“He urged me to do something,” Larkin said. “He said he didn’t want to see me in another uniform.”

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Toronto shortstop Mike Bordick, 38, is retiring after 13 years in the major leagues, saying he’s “99.9%” sure he won’t play again.

Bordick hit .274 with five home runs and 54 runs batted in this season. He got his 1,500th hit Saturday.