Rich

Aurilia

Nothing will happen soon. “The Cubs have shown a glimmer of interest (in Aurilia),” agent Barry Axelrod said. “From what they said, though, they want to explore the situation with Nomar first.”

Aurilia is now the top shortstop on the market, so he should start receiving more interest from teams. The Mariners and Dodgers could use him, and if they have the money left, the Red Sox wouldn’t mind making him their second baseman.

“We’ve pursued him aggressively,” Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said Monday. “But I’m not encouraged at this time that he’s going to accept our offer. Things can change, but I’m not sitting here waiting.” We have a bad feeling Rey Ordonez is going to be Detroit’s shortstop on Opening Day.

It looks like Aurilia is going to see what happens with the Alex Rodriguez deal before deciding where he’ll play. The Red Sox would like him at second base if they can free up enough money, and the Rangers might consider making a run at him if they decide against signing Todd Walker. The Rockies and Blue Jays also have interest in Aurilia, but they may not be able to come up with the cash to sign him.

Aurilia is a Brooklyn native, so he might consider changing positions in order to join the Mets. If signed, he’d probably go to third base, with Ty Wigginton moving to second. However, the Mets will probably see what happens with Kazuo Matsui before they seriously pursue Aurilia.

Aurilia described himself as ''day-to-day.’'

Aurilia is returning from having an appendectomy. Neifi Perez, who has been covering for him, could shift to second base with Ray Durham still out, allowing Edgardo Alfonzo to go back to third.

He injured himself in Sunday’s game against the Pirates. Ramon Santiago started in Aurilia’s place last night and went 0-for-2 with a walk. Look for Aurilia to be back in the Mariners’ lineup tonight.

Aurilia, who was designated for assignment by the Mariners over the weekend, will likely sign with a National League team once he becomes a free agent, as he did not adapt well to AL pitching.

This is rather suprising as the Mariners could easily demote Justin Leone to create the roster space. If the team lets Aurilia go, Leone, Willie Bloomquist and Ramon Santiago could all split time at shortstop for now. Jose Lopez likely would get the job in September.