By The Associated Press

Lou Piniella is not sure he would return to the Seattle Mariners next season even if he can't work out a deal to manage another team, The Tampa Tribune reported.

"That would be a tough situation," Piniella said on the newspaper's Web site Monday. "I haven't even thought about that possibility. I don't know if that could work."

Piniella, a Tampa, Fla., native, wants to manage closer to home. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and New York Mets are both looking for managers, and Piniella thinks the Mariners will allow him to explore other opportunities.

"They understand what I'm trying to do," he told the newspaper. "It's just too far to be in Seattle. It's a burden on me, on my family. It's just too far from home. They told me they'd be in touch with me on Monday."

The New York Times reported Sunday that Piniella will be released from the final year of his contract if he does not want to return to the Mariners. An unidentified baseball official told the newspaper the Mariners would release Piniella from his $6.8 million deal if he made the request.

The Seattle Times reported Saturday night that Piniella has asked out of the final year of his contract.

Piniella made the request Friday during a meeting in Tampa with three Seattle team officials, including chief executive officer Howard Lincoln.

"I told them I've enjoyed this thing here in Seattle," Piniella was quoted as saying in a story on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Web site Sunday night. "We had a real nice meeting, and they told me they were going to think it over. My impression was that they'd give me permission to talk to other clubs."

Lincoln refused comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

Mariners spokesman Tim Hevly said Sunday that Piniella remains under contract with Seattle. He said no teams have requested permission to speak with Piniella, nor has permission been granted.

The 59-year-old Piniella has been Seattle's manager for the past 10 seasons. After tying the major league record with 116 victories and reaching the AL championship series for the second straight season in 2001, the Mariners finished third in the AL West this year.

But they won 93 games, the second-highest total in franchise history, and led the majors in attendance for the second straight year.

After the Mariners' final home game two weeks ago, Piniella was asked if he could say definitively that he would be back in 2003.

"I'm signed for next year," he said.

Piniella has said he was unhappy with the Mariners this season because they would not increase their $90 million payroll at the trade deadline in July. He hoped the team would add a veteran hitter or starting pitcher.

"That's not the reason," Piniella told the Post-Intelligencer. "There were some frustrations, sure. But that's not the reason I asked to talk to other teams. The manager doesn't make (trade) decisions. People who own clubs make those decisions. I know that."