November 9, 200520 yr MIAMI -- Steady veteran Jeff Conine was an original Marlin in 1993. Now at age 39, the versatile outfielder/first baseman has every indication of remaining with the Marlins in 2006, and perhaps beyond. Even though Conine officially filed for free agency last Friday, he is leaning toward returning to Florida, according to his agent, Michael Watkins. "I was in Fort Lauderdale last Thursday and we talked about [contract] parameters," said Watkins, who is California-based. "There is mutual interest." With a home in Weston, Fla., Conine has family and business ties to South Florida. The veteran also has shown he still is a productive player. Last season, Conine batted .304 with three home runs and 33 RBIs in 131 games. After being used as a fourth outfielder for much of the first half, Conine saw more action after the All-Star break. In the second half, he batted .327 and had an on-base percentage of .387 and a slugging percentage of .423. Conine earned $3 million last season. All teams can negotiate exclusively with their free agents through Thursday. On Friday, other teams can join in the bidding. According to Watkins, there is no sense of urgency for Conine to sign before Friday. He noted the team has said it is looking to address other issues. Watkins added that Conine would like to sign a two-year deal, but the veteran will remain flexible on the length of his new contract. Conine, who turns 40 next June, remains in peak condition and has shown he can be an every day player as a corner outfielder or first baseman. Along with having talks with Conine's agent, the Marlins also have had conversations with the agent of closer Todd Jones, who had 40 saves in 45 opportunities. Jones agent, Randy Hendricks, confirmed there have been preliminary discussions with the Marlins. "Of course we have talked to the Marlins," Hendricks said in an e-mail Monday. "And Todd will have a number of options. We will see what develops." The agent of backup infielder Damion Easley said his client expects to have talks with the Marlins soon. Paul Cohen, who represents Easley, noted that the delay has been in part because South Florida was struck by Hurricane Wilma two weeks ago -- slowing down all business deals with the club -- and the team is settling in after hiring new manager Joe Girardi. Cohen did note that a few teams he didn't identify have expressed interest in Easley, who is open to coming back to Florida for a third straight season. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla
November 9, 200520 yr Interesting about the Jones thing, I thought for sure we'd have just said "thanks a lot Todd, all the best" and just left it at that. The comments by his agent don't seem to indicate that he's going to give us any sort of advantage in signing him, so it may be wise to see what kind of deal Mesa is seeking.
November 9, 200520 yr Easley for $800K and Conine for $1M would give us some good veteran leadership and versatile back-ups off the bench. We should offer Jones a 2-year deal for $8M.
November 9, 200520 yr You know, if we can't trade Lowell, where is Conine supposed to play if he is expecting to be in the starting lineup everyday?
November 9, 200520 yr You know, if we can't trade Lowell, where is Conine supposed to play if he is expecting to be in the starting lineup everyday? Conine shouldn't be expected to be in the starting lineup every day. He proved to be very valuable off the bench last year and should expect the same if we re-sign him. Conine may be able to start for extended periods, but shouldn't be counted on to be the every day guy.
November 9, 200520 yr I agree, but that doesn't seem to be the sentiment around here. In the two most likely scenarios, one where Lowell is here and one where is Lowell is not, you could argue there is no space for more than 1-2 starts a week for Niner.
November 9, 200520 yr I wouldn't expect a quick resolution to either Easley (or Jones). Easley's status changes dramatically depending on whether Gonzalez is re-signed and what options there are in free agency.
November 9, 200520 yr Next year Jones will not post numbers anywhere near these....book it. Nope, definitely not.
November 9, 200520 yr Next year Jones will not post numbers anywhere near these....book it. No question, but the $3 million question is who posts better numbers in '06, Jones or Mesa (since I think Urbina's now out of the running given his mishap). Personally, I'd go with Mesa since he has seemingly been lobbying to play here for the better part of two years, but I have no problem bringing Jones back on a one year $3 million deal, I just don't think he's going to take it...
November 10, 200520 yr Bring back all 3 Sure, if only we had Yankees money to play with. :mischief The cost to to bring them back really isn't that much in the grand scheme of things
November 10, 200520 yr Bring back all 3 Sure, if only we had Yankees money to play with. :mischief The cost to to bring them back really isn't that much in the grand scheme of things No I understand what you're saying. I mean if the Marlins had a large budget, then worrying about resigning key FA wouldn't be a big deal. However because they don't, it always means we have less of a chance to resign guys that have helped us in the past.
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