It looks as though Josh Fields may actually wear a Seattle Mariners uniform after all. According to a report on mlb.com, Fields, the Mariners No. 1 draft pick from last year, and the Mariners have finally agreed on a contract, according an unnamed major league source.

The report said that the deal was done pending Fields passing a physical.
Mariners representatives declined to comment when asked about the signing, following a club policy to wait until everything is finalized to comment.
If the deal is done, it will be the end of a long, unmoving standoff between the two sides.

The Mariners selected Fields with the 20th pick of the 2008 amateur draft, following a standout career at the University of Georgia.

As a senior, Fields helped lead the Bulldogs to the finals of the College World Series, where they ended losing a three-game series along the way. Along the way, he earned Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year honors and first-team All-American as the Bulldogs closer. Fields posted a 3-2 record with 18 saves and a 1.80 ERA in 37 innings pitched.

Fields was deemed close to being major league ready by the Mariners officials that chose to draft him. However, a contract squabble could never quite be solved. Reportedly, the Mariners offered Fields a signing bonus of $1.5 million, while Fields and his agent Scott Boras wanted $2 million. Neither side would budge on their demands, and the talks were dead for a period of months.

However, when Jack Zduriencik took over as general manager, he restarted the negotiations with Boras.

It’s uncertain whether Fields will be offered an invitation to major league spring training which starts next week. It’s usually a normal courtesy or negotiated into top draft pick’s contracts.

The emphasis this spring for the Seattle Mariners is one-on-one coaching, and manager Don Wakamatsu didn’t even wait until the team’s first workout to start the process.

On one of the fields in Peoria, catchers, a few outfielders and infielders took informal batting practice without coaches.

Although he was scheduled to take an 11 a.m. physical, Wakamatsu showed up – in shorts and a t-shirt – to watch about five minutes of batting practice. Jamie Burke, a non-roster invitee this year, took a dozen swings and came out of the cage.

Wakamatsu took two minutes to talk to Burke about his front shoulder, Burke nodding and trying a slightly different slow-motion swing.

After a few moments, Wakamatsu trotted off to take his physical and Burke returned to his cage wok. It was a moment that may be repeated all spring by different coaches and players.

Burke was charmed by the attention. Wakamatsu got a small point across.

It’s a start.

Greetings from Arizona where the air is warm the skies are blue and, did we mention, it’s warm?

Nothing scheduled at camp today except physicals, but that didn’t stop Don Wakamatsu and his coaching staff from showing up just after sunrise. Ty Van Burkleo, sporting a goatee, is taking abuse.

“He’s beautiful,” bullpen coach John Wetteland said.

Not surprisingly, catchers are here a bit earlier than their pitching counter parts. And, even though they’ll take a stress test as part of their physicals later in the day, catchers are going through a workout.

That’s what catchers do, work.

As for the daily – or hourly – update on Ken Griffey Jr.?

General manager Jack Zduriencik and agent Brian Goldberg will continue their talks, and Junior will continue playing golf at Pebble Beach as part of the Pro-Am there.

The biggest news, for those of us who left home with snow on the ground Thursday, remains this: It’s warm.