ANAHEIM, Calif. -- He would be bigger than the Empire State Building, the brightest star in town since Reggie. Only one problem: Ken Griffey Jr. does not want to play in New York.

Junior jolted the Mets late Monday night, blocking a deal they had worked overtime to set up with the Seattle Mariners.

	Griffey

"It's been made clear to us that he would prefer not to be traded to the Mets," New York general manager Steve Phillips said.

The Mets packed up and left the winter meetings Tuesday, still with Griffey on their minds. They do not plan to badger Seattle about the 10-time All-Star, but their offer -- reported by ESPN's Peter Gammons as left-handed reliever Dennis Cook, starting pitcher Octavio Dotel and outfielder Roger Cedeno -- is likely to remain open.

"At this point, I don't think he wants to go to the Mets," Mariners GM Pat Gillick said. "You're always hopeful something will change."

Said Phillips: "I'm always willing to leave that door ajar."

"I don't feel like we were wasting time," he said. "I think it was a worthy effort to pursue, and an exciting one to pursue."

There were two trades on the final day of the meetings. The New York Yankees sent reliever Dan Naulty to Los Angeles for a prospect and Cincinnati sent outfielder Stephen Larkin, brother of Reds shortstop Barry, to Baltimore for a player to be named.

Pittsburgh signed free-agent outfielder Wil Cordero, a good hitter who has had difficulty staying healthy and out of trouble, to a $9 million, three-year contract. It is his fourth team in four years.

Cordero has played with Montreal, Boston, the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland, changing uniforms each season since 1997. He hit .299 with eight homers and 32 RBI last season in 54 games with Cleveland, missing three months with a broken left wrist after opening the season as the starting left fielder.

Cordero, 28, a native of Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty in 1997 to beating his wife. Cordero also was arrested in January for disturbing the peace following an altercation with his wife's former husband in a Puerto Rico hotel on New Year's Day.

Anaheim was considering sending outfielder Jim Edmonds to Oakland and the Mariners may sign free-agent second baseman Mark McLemore.

There were 15 trades involving 40 players during the five-day period, including a four-team swap that sent Jeff Cirillo and Rolando Arrojo to Colorado and Vinny Castilla to Tampa Bay. Greg Vaughn and Todd Zeile were the top two free agents who signed.

And there was the Mets' near miss on Griffey.

Had he said OK, the teams would have completed one of the most electrifying trades ever. It would have given the Mets a mega-star to tower over the World Series champion Yankees and provided the city a sports personality unmatched since Reggie Jackson.

Mariners president Chuck Armstrong called Griffey's agent Monday, saying a trade was in place and asking if the center fielder would waive his right to reject it.

Agent Brian Goldberg said no deal, Gillick said.

Griffey can block any deal as a 10-and-5 player -- 10 years in the majors and the past five with the same team.

This offseason, he asked the Mariners to trade him to a club closer to his home in Orlando, Fla. Griffey grew up in Cincinnati watching his father Ken play for the Big Red Machine, and would like to join the team where his dad is now the hitting coach.

During the weekend, the Reds publicly pulled out of trade talks with the Mariners, prompting Goldberg to say Seattle was wasting its time with other clubs. Griffey is eligible for free agency after the 2000 season.

"If he can't go to Cincinnati, then he's going back to Seattle for the final year of his contract," Goldberg said.

The Reds dropped out -- for now, it seems -- when Seattle continued to insist they include Gold Glove second baseman Pokey Reese in any proposed trade.

Reese was flattered.

"To get Ken home to Cincinnati, I'd have made the deal," he said. "I'm honored my name was used in the same sentence as his."

The Reds did make a deal by sending Stephen Larkin, 26, to the Orioles. He hit .299 this season at Double-A Chattanooga, and played his only major league game in 1998.

The Dodgers got Naulty for Class A first baseman Nick Leach. Naulty, 30 next month, was 1-0 with a 4.33 ERA in 33 appearances for New York.