Less than four weeks before the start of spring training, Ivan Rodriguez and Greg Maddux are still looking for the right deals.
Rodriguez, the 10-time All-Star catcher who helped Florida win the World Series last year, received a US$40 million, four-year offer from Detroit last week.
His agent, Scott Boras, plans to make a counteroffer to the Tigers on Friday. Rodriguez isn't close to a deal.
"We're continuing to talk to a number of teams and are working through this in a methodical fashion," Boras said Thursday.
Rodriguez rejected a US$24 million, three-year offer to re-sign with Florida on Dec. 7. The Marlins are ineligible to re-sign him until May 1, although they could agree to a minor league deal and bring him up after the first month.
"We have no rights to him," general manager Larry Beinfest said Thursday. "I would absolutely say all these things are speculative because there's nothing we can do on our end. Pudge is a terrific ballplayer. I'm sure there's a lot of interest in him and ultimately it's up to him what he's doing with his career and where he wants to play, and we're not a part of that right now."
Maddux, a four-time Cy Young Award winner, has received a two-year offer from the Chicago Cubs but also isn't close to a decision, Boras said.
Among players in salary arbitration, AL Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay agreed to a US$42 million, four-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. He would have been eligible for free agency after the 2005 season.
"I want to win here and be part of a team that builds something rather than going out and just trying to sign with a team that has the best chance to win," he said. "It's hard to say what things are like in other organizations, but I can't see myself being any happier anyplace else."
Halladay, 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA last season, gets US$6 million this year, US$10.5 million in 2005, US$12.7 million in 2006 and US$12.8 million in 2007.
"If you have one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball, that's a commodity that you don't want to let get away," Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said.
Utilityman Damian Rolls agreed to an US$800,000, one-year contract with Tampa Bay. The 26-year-old infielder-outfielder sought US$900,000 and the Devil Rays offered US$700,000. The difference was the smallest among the 27 players who exchanged figures with their teams in arbitration Tuesday.
Tampa Bay also agreed to a one-year contract with left-hander Damian Moss and a minor league contract with right-hander Todd Ritchie.
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