"When the Seattle Mariners finally broke their silence Tuesday on the worst-kept secret in baseball – announcing the acquisition of free agent Chone Figgins five days after the news broke – general manager Jack Zduriencik still had a surprise up his sleeve.

From the podium of baseball's winter meetings in Indianapolis, Zduriencik called Figgins "an infielder" rather than a third baseman, and said it had yet to be determined where in the infield he would play.

What's that?

"I think we've made it clear, we have interest in another infielder who used to be here," Zduriencik said, leaving a door open to bringing back third baseman Adrian Beltre and moving Figgins to second base.

Beltre's camp was open to the prospect.

"He is the best defensive third baseman in major league baseball .... there's a lot of interest in Adrian Beltre," agent Scott Boras said on Sirius radio. "He has a lot of choices. And, certainly, Seattle is one of those teams that continues to show interest in him."

A night earlier, Beltre declined the Mariners' offer of arbitration, and when the team announced the switch-hitting Figgins had signed his four-year, $36 million deal, most thought Beltre's five years in Seattle officially ended.

Figgins was open, as well.

"Jack talked to me about some other things that might happen, and I'd probably play second base," Figgins said by telephone. "I've moved around my whole career. I'm prepared for anything."

Beltre could have earned as much as $12 million in arbitration, but clearly the Mariners think they can bring him back for more than one year at less than that figure. They've seen that formula work once this offseason.

The team bought out the option on shortstop Jack Wilson's $8 million contract for 2010, then re-signed him to a two-year deal worth a total of $10 million. Beltre has drawn interest from the Giants and Red Sox, but the market isn't what he'd hoped to find.

Boras is said to be asking for a four-year, $40 million contract. If that's a negotiable starting point, it may be something the Mariners can work with.

Zduriencik, however, wanted to talk Tuesday about the player he had, not the one he didn't have.

"Chone is versatile, he can run, he can bunt, play multiple positions," Zduriencik said. "He was a player we targeted early on, a unique player and a good fit. There are lots of ways to win games. You can win with power, with defense, with pitching, with speed. The best clubs can beat you a lot of ways, and that's our goal."