American League

New York

BUYER'S MARKET: G.M. Brian Cashman has called agents representing almost all of the biggest names on the free-agent market, but Cashman acknowledged the No. 1 target remains Bernie Williams. Calls were made to (or accepted from) the agents of Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Brian Jordan and Albert Belle as the Yankees explored alternatives in case Williams rejects their impending offer. The feeling about their chances to retain Williams has waned.... If Williams leaves, another option would be to pursue 1B Mo Vaughn to try to make up the offensive loss.

OPTIONS FOR CONE: The club extended David Cone's deadline to exercise his own option, providing some hope the sides could work things out before Cone officially rejects a below-market $5.5 million option for 1999. Cone would prefer to stay with the Yankees, but his option is well below market price. As a major player in the players' union, there is pressure on him not to sign for too little.... With Joe Torre's urging, the club picked up its $3.4 million option on Joe Girardi, who happens to be Cone's personal catcher. Torre feels Girardi was integral to the team's pitching success last season.... The club is believed to be offering Scott Brosius about $5 million a year on a three-year deal. Brosius is rumored to be seeking close to $6 million annually. -- Jon Heyman

Oakland

HOPELESS: The A's have all but given up on having LHP Kenny Rogers back. Rogers, who finished third in the A.L. in ERA last season, has until next week to decide whether to demand a trade, and he is expected to do just that. Because Rogers was traded to the A's in the middle of his multi-year contract with the Yankees, he has that right. G.M. Billy Beane won't start serious talks on a trade involving Rogers until the G.M. meetings start next weekend. By that time, the deadline will have passed for Rogers to announce his decision.

BIG STEW: Dave Stewart remains in the running for the assistant general manager job in Oakland, but Beane made it sound as if Stewart would end up somewhere else, although not back with the Padres as pitching coach. Beane said his recent interview with Stewart went well, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to top other offers.... Beane has had informal talks with Rickey Henderson's agent, but no hard numbers have been thrown back and forth. Given the A's modest payroll increase to around $22 million, Henderson might not get much of a raise from last year's salary of $1.1 million. But he wants to finish his career in Oakland, his hometown, so the chances are very high he'll be back.... The A's bought out the option on Ed Sprague's contract. He will become a free agent. -- Steeve Kettman

Seattle

EXTENSION POSSIBILITIES: Team officials still are trying to figure out how the apparent new financial market will impact efforts to re-sign All-Stars Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. "You can't always point to one signing and say that is now the market," assistant G.M. Lee Pelekoudas said after the Mets signed C Mike Piazza to a seven-year, $91 million contract. "It's hard to tell if this (Piazza deal) is an aberration." The team may soon discover whether the Piazza signing really does set a new scale. Both Griffey and Rodriguez have two years remaining on their contracts, but the organization is expend to explore contract-extension discussions this winter.