Sunday, September 16, 2007

Jose Guillen likely has made himself a lot of money this season. The Seattle Mariners' free-agent-to-be outfielder might soon cash in on his gamble last offseason to sign a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Mariners.

Guillen, 31, entered the weekend hitting .290 with 20 homers and 89 RBI for a Mariners team that until two weeks ago was in the thick of the playoff hunt. In a relatively weak free agent class, Guillen could draw significant interest, although he is believed to be negotiating a three-year deal to remain in Seattle.

Greeting a Washington reporter before a recent Mariners game, Guillen said with a grin: "Hey, what do you think? Should I re-sign with the Nationals this winter? You know, I may make myself available to them."

Practically speaking, the Nationals are pretty well stocked with corner outfielders in 2008 (holdovers Austin Kearns, Wily Mo Pe?a and Ryan Church possibly joined by Justin Maxwell), and likely will focus on finding a center fielder. Still, Guillen said he regrets the way he left Washington, injured and unproductive.

"You know what I went through in Washington with [injuries to] the shoulder and the elbow," Guillen said. "You saw the numbers I put up before I got hurt. This year, I proved to myself and to a lot of people in baseball what Jose Guillen can do when he's healthy."

SEEKING A SPOT: Los Angeles Angels left-hander Joe Saunders, a native of Falls Church and former Virginia Tech standout, is pitching down the stretch for a spot in the Angels' postseason rotation. The consolation prize, a spot in the team's vaunted bullpen, isn't too bad either.

"I think they know I can pitch up here," said Saunders, who is 15-6 in parts of three seasons in the majors, "but they want to see how I deal with pressure situations and whether I'm able to maintain my focus in big situations."

The No. 4 spot in the Angels' postseason rotation -- behind John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Jered Weaver -- appears to have come down to Saunders or veteran Bartolo Colon, who started on Friday night for the first time in nearly two months.

Angels Manager Mike Scioscia declined to look ahead to the postseason, but said of Saunders: "He's made big footprints on our team and on our rotation. We like what we've seen."