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ESPN.com first reported that Selig will be offered an additional term when owners meet today and Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Two owners, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that a new term will be proposed.
Owners also intend to approve the completion of the sale of the San Diego Padres from John Moores to Jeff Moorad
Selig has been commissioner since September 1992 and would surpass Kenesaw Mountain Landis for longest tenure in September 2016. Selig repeatedly has said he intends to retire in December but also admits almost no one believes him.
Selig, 77, became acting commissioner in September 1992, when clubs forced out Fay Vincent. After saying he wouldn’t take the job, Selig was elected to a five-year term as permanent commissioner in 1998 and gave up running the Milwaukee Brewers, the team his family sold in 2005.
Owners voted in November 2001 to extend his term through 2006, then voted in August 2004 to extend it through 2009. Although he first said in 2006 that he intended to retire at the end of that term, in January 2008 he accepted an extension through 2012.
Before Game 7 of the World Series in October, Selig again said he planned to leave this year but admitted few thought he would.
M’S SIGN HEILMAN
The last time Aaron Heilman was a Seattle Mariner, the 33-year-old right-handed pitcher wasn’t around long enough to put on a uniform.
Acquired in the trade that brought Franklin Gutierrez, Mike Carp and Jason Vargas to Seattle in 2008, Heilman was traded to the Cubs a month later for Ronny Cedeño and Garrett Olson. On Tuesday, the Mariners signed Heilman to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
In nine big-league seasons, Heilman has a 35-46 record with a 4.40 ERA and 16 saves in 477 appearances. How to define his role in Seattle? Consider him the 2012 version of reliever Jamey Wright.
A year ago, Heilman was released midseason by Arizona, then pitched with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the minor leagues. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, Heilman has been a durable reliever throughout his career – five times appearing in 70 or more games in a season.
Larry LaRue, staff writer
SHORT HOPS
Taiwanese left-hander Wei-yin Chen and the Orioles have agreed to a three-year contract worth $11,338,000. Chen, 26, went 36-30 with a 2.48 ERA in 117 games, including 88 starts, over the last four seasons with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japan’s Central League. … Paul Maholm, 6-14 in Pittsburgh last season despite a 3.66 ERA, and the Cubs agreed to a one-year contract that guarantees the left-hander $4.75 million with a $6.5 million club option for 2013 and a $500,000 buyout. … The agreed to minor league contracts with right-handers Miguel Batista, a former Seattle Mariner, and Fernando Cabrera, inviting both to spring training.
