Mariners to meet this afternoon with agent for pitcher Jeff Francis

Join us here periodically as we roam the hallways of the Hilton Anatole hotel to bring you live footage of the goings on at the baseball winter meetings. Just as I told you about an hour ago via Twitter, the Mariners will meet early this afternoon with Jim Lindell, the agent for pitcher Jeff Francis, who pitched last season with the Kansas City Royals. Lindell lives in the Seattle area, so he knows all about the Mariners and their needs. The two sides have had prior discussions on the pitcher by phone. Don't expect any deals to get done here at the meetings. My sources tell me that there are several Francis suitors out there, essentially the teams that lost out on the Chris Capuano bidding. Capuano signed a two-year, $10-million deal with the Dodgers. I'm told the Francis camp expects to get at least a two-year offer. Read more...