St. Petersburg, FL (My Sportsbook) - Tampa Bay general manager Chuck LaMar, managing general partner Vince Naimoli, Lou Piniella, and Alan Nero, Piniella's agent, met as scheduled on Tuesday. The meeting came one day after the club announced that it would make a formal offer to Piniella to manage the Devil Rays.

A team official would not confirm or deny that an offer was made. The club called a news briefing for Tuesday afternoon to apparently detail the offer made to Piniella, but cancelled the briefing and issued the following statement:

"The Commissioner's Office has informed the Devil Rays that there will be no comment on any subject until the World Series is completed."

The Devil Rays offer is reportedly worth between $13-14 million over four years.

Tampa Bay was granted permission by the Seattle Mariners to talk with Piniella regarding the position. The Devil Rays and Mariners agreed on compensation for Piniella last week.

Piniella, a Tampa native, was released from his contract with Seattle at his request. He was slated to make $6.8 million in 2003 with the Mariners in the final season of a three-year deal.

Piniella posted an 840-711 record and twice was named the American League Manager of the Year in 10 seasons with Seattle. He led the Mariners 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.

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.

Tampa Bay fired Hal McRae with one year remaining on his contract after losing a franchise-record 106 games this season.