Robbie Alomar/Konerko deal news

[DBAHO]

Nothin much new, both r still far apart.

Even after filing for free agency, Roberto Alomar said re-signing with the White Sox was his "first priority."

 

Alomar indicated his willingness to take a substantial pay cut from the $8 million he made in 2003 and acknowledged he would be open to a one-year contract "depending on the team we have."

 

But with a de facto Sunday deadline looming, Alomar's window for returning gets smaller by the day.

 

Roberto's brother, Sandy Jr., who re-signed with the Sox last week, said he purposely has avoided getting involved in the negotiations. He hasn't spoken to Roberto since his younger brother visited him in Chicago two weeks ago.

 

"Robbie's a grown boy; I can't tell him what to do," Sandy said. "I know he had fun when he was here. But at the end of the day, he'll look at his best interests."

 

The 35-year-old Roberto, who needs 321 hits to reach 3,000, appears to be holding out hope the Sox will offer a two-year deal.

 

"I don't know if that's putting a stall in the whole situation," Sandy said.

 

Roberto Alomar, an ace defender who hit .253 in 67 games with the Sox last year, might be out of luck in his quest for a multi-year deal.

 

The Marlins, an early suitor, re-signed second baseman Luis Castillo. The Rockies acquired Aaron Miles from the Sox. The Cardinals and Yankees have yet to express strong interest, at least publicly.

 

Sox general manager Ken Williams, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, said earlier in the week that he was "not optimistic at all" about the Sox's chances of re-signing Alomar and that second-year player Willie Harris would focus on playing second base in winter ball.

 

Williams will need to know by Sunday whether Alomar wants to accept his one-year offer, which is believed to be worth $3 million to $4 million.

 

Sunday is the deadline for teams to offer salary arbitration to their free agents.

 

If the Sox offer arbitration to their five remaining free agents—Alomar, Bartolo Colon, Carl Everett, Scott Sullivan and Tony Graffanino—they can continue negotiating with them until Jan. 8.

 

If they don't, they can't re-sign them until May 1.

 

The decision can be tricky. If the Sox offer to arbitrate with Colon and he signs with another team, the Sox would receive two picks in the 2004 amateur draft—likely a first-rounder plus a pick sandwiched between the first and second rounds.

 

But offering arbitration can be a great risk, and there's little chance the Sox will roll the dice with either Alomar or Everett.

 

Although Alomar's numbers fell off last season, there's no guarantee an arbiter would rule that he's worthy of a pay cut. Such a decision, according to industry sources, would be almost unprecedented.

 

The Sox are expected to offer arbitration to Colon, who made $8.25 million last season. That would extend, at the very least, their window for negotiating with him.

 

Colon rejected the Sox's three-year, $36 million offer in late October, but with the Yankees having acquired right-hander Javier Vazquez and the Phillies having traded for Twins lefty Eric Milton, Colon's options appear to be dwindling.

 

The Sox's desire to re-sign Colon for something less than $12 million a year could depend on Anaheim. A source close to Colon said Thursday that the Angels had offered a four-year deal worth $48 million, but that could not be confirmed.

 

"This is a great place to play baseball," Sandy Alomar said of Chicago. "Bartolo can focus on playing the game. The teams that give most of the money sometimes have a lot of distractions, and you get a lot of attention. I think it's a good fit here. Bartolo's a mellow and quiet guy, and the opportunity to win here is good."

 

On another front, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday the Dodgers strongly were contemplating a trade for Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, a former star in the Dodgers minor-league system who hit a career-low .234 last year.

 

A proposed deal for left-hander Odalis Perez apparently has been on the table for weeks and a West Course source said Thursday the Dodgers were more likely to pursue other options.One of those could be Magglio Ordonez, whom the Sox would give up only because of his $14 million salary in 2004.