Griffey to stay put in Seattle

The Mariners and slugger Ken Griffey jnr agreed on Wednesday to a deal that will keep Griffey in Seattle for the 2010 baseball season.

Griffey, who turns 40 on November 21, is baseball's active home run leader. Griffey is fifth on the career home run list with 630.

His new deal is similar to the one-year, incentive-laden deal that he had inked with Seattle last season.

He is likely to again be a part-time designated hitter in his 22nd season in the major leagues since he broke in with the Mariners as a teenager.

After spending his first 11 seasons with Seattle, he played nine more with Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox before returning to the Mariners.

"He's open to anything," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a telephone interview from baseball's general manager meetings in Chicago. "What he said was, 'I'd like to be a part of this. Hey, I'm part of a 25-man club. Let the pieces fall where they may ... let the manager make the decisions.' It's a real bonus to have him back."

Griffey is a 10-time All-Star and was the 1997 American League Most Valuable Player for the Mariners.

Last season he hit .214 with 19 homers as a part-time designated hitter.