Cameron out, but Shiggy in

The Mariners have Shigetoshi Hasegawa back in their bullpen after re-signing him for two years yesterday, but for the first time in 15 years, they will not have even a link to Ken Griffey Jr. in center field.

With a call from Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi at 6 o'clock last night telling Mike Cameron the club would not offer salary arbitration and therefore would give up the right to re-sign him, the last vestige of the Griffey trade is gone.

"It's weird what happened. It's crazy this feeling I'm left with," Cameron said after speaking with Bavasi. "It's like your dad tells you to get the hell out of the house. 'We still love you, son ... but you can't come back.' "

If the Mariners had love for Cameron, then they did not have enough money or years for him and talks that ran all day yesterday seemingly fell apart when the club could do no better than an offer of one year for about $5 million.

The gifted outfielder who was not the same hitter after pounding four home runs in one game in Chicago on May 2, 2002, follows the departures of pitchers Jake Meyer and Brett Tomko and infielder Antonio Perez, who also came from the Reds on Feb. 10, 2000.

"I was the last guy," said the Gold Glover, the best American League center fielder of this generation. "I said then that Griffey was the one who laid the groundwork and I was just the keeper of it for a while. Well, man, it's someone else's turn. I may say the same Griffey said of me: It's going to be tough for the one who follows. The standard is high, but I think in all I did all right."

The Mariners' new center fielder in 2004 is expected to be Randy Winn, if they do not trade for or sign someone else.

The Mariners also did not offer arbitration to relievers Arthur Rhodes and Armando Benitez, infielders Mark McLemore and Rey Sanchez, and outfielder John Mabry. They did offer arbitration to catcher Pat Borders, whom Bavasi says the "club has a special relationship with."

In losing Cameron, Bavasi said:

"You don't feel good about it. He came in and filled some pretty good shoes and made people forget Junior pretty quick. It was tougher on the guys in the front office who knew Mike better than I did, and it was not without appreciation that we did this."

The move was also tough on the popular center fielder.

"I wanted to be back. I tried hard to get back," Cameron said of contract talks. "In the end, it was kind of crazy, really different than I expected, but I hold no hard feelings, only good thoughts for Seattle and the fans and my teammates. ... I mean my ex-teammates."

Bavasi also called Mike Nicotera, Cameron's agent.

"What it came down to in my opinion was that Seattle does not feel it needs Mike Cameron's services in center field as much as some other teams do," said Nicotera, who reportedly has also been in talks with Oakland and the New York Mets. "We tried, but there just wasn't a fit, and the change in Mike's defensive impact won't be felt until he's not there. The club made a decision and we all move on with no hard feelings."

The Mariners had more success with Hasegawa, and are thought to be in extended talks with reliever Eddie Guardado, although it was a matter of conjecture how much money Seattle has left for the left-hander after giving Hasegawa $6.3 million for two years, with an option for a third.

The right-hander, who had 1.48 earned-run average in 63 games and 16 saves as a late-season closer, gets $2.5 million for 2004, $2.975 million for 2005, with a club option for 2006 at $3.1 million or a $325,000 buyout.

"There was some give and take over the last two days," Bavasi said, referring to the fact the club came up in money and offered the third optional year, while Hasegawa's agent, Greg Clifton, dropped his demand for three guaranteed years at $3 million a year.

Should the Mariners' talks with Guardado be successful, Hasegawa's versatility would be further advanced. Guardado, a left-hander they call "Everyday Eddie," can work setup relief, yet he had 41 saves for the Twins last season, second best in the AL.

Bob Finnigan: 206-464-8276 or bfinnigan@seattletimes.com