01:00 AM EST on Saturday, December 17, 2005

The Mariners are amenable to trading Jeremy Reed to the Red Sox, but the Seattle Times reported yesterday the team would prefer Bronson Arroyo instead of Matt Clement in return.

The Sox are interested in Reed, a 24-year-old defensive whiz who played center field for the Mariners as a rookie last year, in case they can't re-sign Johnny Damon. They offered Clement for Reed, but the Mariners countered by asking for Arroyo.

"Clement is a hard thrower and that gets your attention," the Times quoted an American League scout as saying. "But a lot of people would prefer to have Arroyo, and not only because he makes less [money] for the same job. He's got a great sinker and gets a lot of grounders.

"That's a huge plus if you have a good defensive infield, and Seattle does. Of course, Clement is a fly-ball pitcher, and a big park" -- like Seattle's Safeco Field -- "would be a plus for him, too."

Arroyo made $1.85 million last year and is eligible for arbitration. Clement will earn $9.75 million next season and $9.5 million in 2007.

Damon looking at L.A.

The Sox will need Reed -- or at least another center fielder -- if remarks by Damon on Boston's Channel 4 are to be believed.

Damon told the television station Thursday that he hasn't heard back from the Red Sox since they offered him a four-year, $40-million deal last week, and that there's a "good chance" he'll sign with either the Dodgers or the Yankees.

"I should know in the next couple of days," he said.

New York and Los Angeles are also among four teams competing for Nomar Garciaparra, the former Red Sox shortstop.

"We had a tight-knit group in Boston," said Damon. "I'd like to be in a place that is comfortable. And hey, Nomar could end up with me in either L.A. or New York."

The feeling is the Sox will not go far beyond the offer they've made, and that the Dodgers may make a five-year proposal. A Baltimore newspaper also reported that the Orioles are preparing to make a pitch for Damon, but the O's don't seem to believe they have much of a chance of landing him.

"[The] likelihood [of signing Damon] is not very high," Orioles vice-president of baseball operations Jim Duquette told ESPN.com yesterday. "It's going to be prohibitive, money-wise."

A curious proposal

It was reported in a suburban Boston newspaper that the Sox were closing in on a deal that would send two of their newly acquired players -- third baseman Andy Marte and reliever Guillermo Mota -- to Cleveland for outfielder Coco Crisp.

The deal seems curious, for a number of reasons. For the cost of acquiring another outfielder -- which, unless they lose Damon and/or trade Manny Ramirez, they don't need, especially if they acquire Reed -- the Sox would reopen a hole in their bullpen that they closed with the trade for Mota, and give up the player who is now regarded as the best non-pitching prospect in the organization.

Injury denied

Persistent rumors that Marte has an elbow injury were emphatically denied by Marte's agent, Don Mitchell.

"There have been no doctor visits, no surgeries, no sore elbow, no anything," Mitchell told The Boston Herald yesterday. "[Marte's] been playing in the Dominican [Republic's winter league], he's been hitting, he's been throwing, and he's having no physical problems whatsoever."

Marte is hitting .234 in 111 at-bats for Azucareros, with 2 homers and 9 RBI.

Around the bases

Rhode Island native Alan Nero, the agent for free-agent catcher John Flaherty, says the Red Sox have contacted him about his client. Flaherty, who began his career in the Boston organization, spent the last two seasons with the Yankees. . . . Ryan Rupe, who pitched briefly for the Red Sox in 2003 and spent most of that season at Pawtucket, has signed a minor-league contract with the Marlins. . . . Doug Mientkiewicz, who signed yesterday with the Royals, and the Red Sox are going to arbitration to decide who owns the ball from the final out of Boston's 2004 World Series victory.