Notebook: Ichiro's glove golden again

One of the few areas of strength for the Mariners last season was their defense, and Ichiro was rewarded for his fielding excellence on Tuesday with his fifth straight Gold Glove award.

Ichiro, 32, will earn a $100,000 bonus for the honor, according to The Associated Press. The right fielder was fifth in the American League with a .995 fielding percentage, making two errors in 393 chances; he tied for fourth in the AL with 10 outfield assists.

Ichiro won seven straight Gold Gloves in Japan with the Orix Blue Wave, and now has won one in each of his five seasons in the majors, along with getting at least 200 hits each of those years. The Mariners tied for the highest fielding percentage in the majors at .986 and also tied for the fewest errors with 86.

The rest of the AL Gold Gloves went to pitcher Kenny Rogers (Rangers), catcher Jason Varitek (Red Sox), first baseman Mark Teixeira (Rangers), second baseman Orlando Hudson (Blue Jays), shortstop Derek Jeter (Yankees), third baseman Eric Chavez (A's) and outfielders Torii Hunter (Twins) and Vernon Wells (Blue Jays).

The Mariners have had a Gold Glove winner for 19 consecutive seasons, the longest current streak in the majors.

Guardado talks stall

As tonight's deadline for the Mariners to pick up their 2006 option on closer Eddie Guardado approaches, there was little apparent progress Tuesday in negotiations.

"I put a two-year structure on the table [Monday] night," said Kevin Kohler, Guardado's agent. "It's actually lower than what we would accept on the market."

Kohler said that as of late afternoon Tuesday, the Mariners had not responded. Earlier in the day Monday, the Mariners had put forward their own two-year proposal, Kohler indicated.

If the Mariners decline their $6.25 million option on Guardado, the 35-year-old reliever has seven days to pick up his option at $4.25 million, plus incentives. If he declines to do so, he becomes a free agent.

Hasegawa, Reese out

On Tuesday, the Mariners made the expected moves of declining the 2006 club options on reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa and infielder Pokey Reese.

Both players filed for free agency, joining infielder Dave Hansen, pitcher Jeff Nelson and catcher Dan Wilson on the list of free-agent filings. For Wilson, who has announced his retirement, the filing is merely a paperwork formality.

Besides Guardado, the only other potential free agent from the Mariners is Jamie Moyer, who turns 43 on Nov. 18. Moyer has until Nov. 10 to file.

Hasegawa would have earned $3.1 million if the M's brought him back, but instead he receives a $325,000 buyout. Reese, who missed the entire season with a shoulder injury, receives a $300,000 buyout. His 2006 contract would have paid him $2.25 million.

Front-office moves

The Mariners announced the promotions of two members of their front office. Longtime executive Lee Pelekoudas, in his 26th year with the club, will become vice president, associate general manager. He previously held the title of VP, baseball administration.

Jim Na, a former standout player at the University of Washington who joined the baseball operations department in 2001, was promoted to director, baseball administration. His previous position was baseball operations assistant/systems coordinator.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.