St. Petersburg, FL (My Sportsbook) - Tampa Bay has been granted permission by the Seattle Mariners to talk with Lou Piniella regarding the Devil Rays' managerial opening.

The teams have agreed on compensation for the former Seattle manager should he accept the Tampa Bay position. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Piniella, a Tampa native, asked the Mariners for permission last week to get out of the final year of a three-year, $6.8 million contract. The Mariners still have the rights to Piniella's services and will try to work out a deal with another team looking for a manager.

The New York Mets and reportedly two other teams have also shown interest in talking with Piniella about his services.

Piniella was born in Tampa and went to high school there before attending the University of Tampa, where he was an All-America baseball player. He still has a house in the area.

Twice the AL Manager of the Year, Piniella owns an 840-711 record in 10 seasons with Seattle, which he led to four playoff appearances. Last season, Seattle tied the major league record with 116 wins and made it to the AL Championship Series for a second straight season. Piniella managed the Cincinnati Reds to a World Series title in 1990.

The Mariners finished third with a record of 93-69 in a very strong AL West this season, behind Oakland and Anaheim, and missed the playoffs.

Piniella, who managed the Reds for three seasons, also was the skipper for the New York Yankees for two-plus seasons. After managing the Yankees in 1986 and '87, he was named general manager in October 1987. He returned to the dugout in June of 1988 for the remainder of the season after manager Billy Martin was fired.

In 18 seasons as a player, Piniella hit .291 with 102 home runs and 766 RBI. The 59-year-old played for Baltimore, Cleveland, and Kansas City, but spent most of his career with the Yankees.