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For the second time this week, the Mariners were rebuffed in an attempt to make a deal.

	Cedeno

	Cirillo

Third baseman Jeff Cirillo has blocked a trade to the New York Mets, saying he'd rather come off the bench for the Seattle Mariners than take his chances with another team.

The Mets and Mariners had agreed on a deal that would have sent Cirillo to New York for outfielder Roger Cedeno.

"As far as the Mets were concerned, it wouldn't be a starting role, it would have been as a utilityman," Cirillo's agent, Jeff Borris, said Saturday. "He didn't want to move his family across the country if it wasn't going to be a starting job."

Cirillo's contract contains a limited no-trade clause that allows him to block deals to about 10 teams.

"I'd rather sit on the bench in Seattle where my kids are," Cirillo told the newspaper, "than sit in New York without my family around me."

General manager Bill Bavasi indicated another trade involving Cirillo remains possible. "He's a Mariner bench player, as of today," Bavasi said Saturday night.

Cirillo is a California native who lives in Redmond, Wash., and his wife has relatives in the Seattle area. That was one of the main draws for Cirillo when he joined the Mariners two years ago.

Asked about Cirillo's decision to exercise his no-trade rights, his wife Nancy told the newspaper, "Didn't anyone know? No one asked before."

Earlier in the week, the Mariners thought they had acquired veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel from the Indians. However, Vizquel failed his physical, putting that deal on hold.

Cirillo agreed recently to cut the number of clubs in his no-trade clause. But both New York teams were believed to be on his shortened list, according to the paper. Mariners officials believed he would approve the trade because of his desire to get away from the Mariners.

Asked if he saw a release coming, Cirillo told the paper, "It's a big check to write." Cirillo is still owed $15.125 million on his contract.

"My intention is to go to camp and play the best I can for Seattle, but I can't see myself walking through the Mariners' door in spring training, and I told them that," he told the paper. "You're trying to win a championship and, especially with new guys on the team, you don't need the distraction.

"I appreciate Bill being honest with me today, he seems like a great guy, but I wish someone from the Mariners had talked to me before. It's a bad situation. I've played so poorly it's come to this. I really wanted it to work in Seattle; maybe I wanted it too much."

The Mariners signed Scott Spiezio to play third base. Last season, Cirillo played strong defense but continued to be a liability at the plate. A two-time All-Star when he played in Milwaukee and Colorado, Cirillo hit .205 in 87 games last year after hitting .249 in 146 games the year before.

The Mets are trying to unload Cedeno, who also has a big contract and has been a disappointment after signing as a free agent before the 2002 season.

Cirillo spent almost a month in July and August last season on the disabled list because of a subluxated right shoulder. He did rehabilitation work in the minors but played in only two of Seattle's final 35 games.

He started with a .171 average in April but hit .306 in May but trailed off after the All-Star break. On July 29, the Mariners traded a minor leaguer for shortstop Rey Sanchez and moved Carlos Guillen to third.

Cirillo is owed $6.6 million in 2004 and $6.9 million in 2005 under a deal he agreed to with Colorado in July 2000. The contract contains a $7.5 million team option for 2006 with a $1.25 million buyout.

Mets general manager Jim Duquette didn't want to speak specifically about Cirillo. "We will continue to explore all avenues to help improve our ballclub," he said in a statement.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.