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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 3:11 p.m., Monday, February 16, 2009

MLB: Braves try to close deal with Glavine

Associated Press

ATLANTA — Day 2 of spring training. Still no Tom Glavine.

But it appears more and more likely baseball's only active 300-game winner will soon be in camp for the Atlanta Braves.

The two sides had a good meeting last week, and Glavine's agent, Gregg Clifton, was planning to talk with the team again Monday in hopes to moving closer to a deal.

The Braves are eager for the 42-year-old Glavine to return as the fifth starter in a rebuilt rotation, but only if he'll take a significant cut in the $8 million he made last year, when he made only 13 starts before season-ending elbow surgery.

Clifton sounded hopeful that a deal will be reached.

"We continue to make progress," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "When you have too sides that want to be together, it shouldn't be too difficult to reach a resolution."

Manager Bobby Cox said there's no rush. Glavine has been working out on his own in Atlanta, which might be a better situation than being in camp.

"The plan all along was to keep him there rehabbing," Cox said. "If he gets down here, he starts trying to throw harder and gets out of his routine. It's better the way it is."

If healthy, Glavine would be a nice fit at the back end of a rotation that includes newcomers Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami, along with 13-game winner Jair Jurrjens.

Clifton said there's no doubt Glavine will be ready to go on opening day.

"Every day, he's getting stronger," the agent said.

While Glavine's situation moves toward a resolution, much of the speculation in camp has shifted toward the possibility of signing outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.

The Braves are eager to bolster an outfield that produced only 27 homers last season. While Griffey's best years are certainly behind him, he did have 18 homers and 71 RBIs splitting time between Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox in 2008.

General manager Frank Wren has acknowledged that Griffey is one of several available outfielder that he's considering, but won't say anything more.

"No news," he said Monday when asked if a signing or trade was imminent.