SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners have given Lou Piniella, their former manager, permission to talk to Tampa Bay about the Devil Rays' vacant managerial position.

The Mariners announced Friday they have agreed to compensation with Tampa Bay should Piniella accept the Devil Rays' job.

The Mariners wouldn't reveal what the compensation deal involved. The Mariners said their compensation talks will be confidential.

"I'm not going to comment on any of the players who are involved in the transaction,'' Mariners general manager Pat Gillick said by phone in a conference call from Peoria, Ariz., where the team is holding organizational meetings.

"I will not comment on anything,'' Gillick said when asked if there was money involved in the possible deal.

"All I will say is Tampa Bay stepped up and they were very aggressive,'' he said. "They were the first out of the chute for Lou.''

The agreement comes one day before the commissioner-imposed gag order on managerial announcements. After Friday, no team can announce a managerial hire until after the World Series.

Mariners spokesman Tim Hevly said the Mariners have not talked to the New York Mets, another team that requested permission to interview Piniella about their vacant managerial job.

''We haven't heard from the Mets since 11 a.m. (Thursday) when we called them,'' Hevly said.

The Mets issued a statement saying they had no new developments regarding discussions with the Mariners on a compensation package. Mets owner Fred Wilpon had one telephone conversation with Mariners president Chuck Armstrong on Friday, Hevly said.

Newsday reported Friday night that the Mets had provided two lists of prospects to Seattle, which had to only choose one player from each list before granting New York permission to speak with Piniella.

Meanwhile, Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar declined to discuss the compensation package for Piniella, citing a confidentiality clause in the agreement with the Mariners.

LaMar spent much of Friday interviewing Oakland Athletics bench coach Ken Macha, but conceded that gaining permission to talk to Piniella had pushed the Tampa native to the top of his wish list.

"He's a winner. He was a winner as a player. He's a proven winner as a major league manager. ... I believe in my heart he is the right man for the job,'' LaMar said.

Gillick said there wasn't any timetable for the Devil Rays to hire Piniella.

"We're not setting a 48- or 72-hour time limit on it,'' he said. "We want to give Lou as much time as possible.''

LaMar said he was unsure when negotiations would start, or how a rule prohibiting major announcements during the World Series would apply if the Devil Rays are able to hire Piniella.

"There have been exceptions,'' he said, adding that Tampa Bay would do whatever commissioner Bud Selig asked. Selig has asked teams to refrain from making major announcements during the World Series, preferring to keep attention focused on baseball's championship. Game 1 is Saturday.

Before that becomes a factor, the Devil Rays and Piniella would first have to reach an agreement.

"Hopefully, it'll go quickly. We'll put our best foot forward, and Lou will know how much we'd like him to be our next manager,'' LaMar said.

Lee Pelekoudas, vice president of baseball administration for the Mariners, talked to Piniella on Friday. He said Piniella was trying to stay patient, but he understood it was hard.

"Lou wanted to get the process moving,'' Pelekoudas said. "He'd like to get in the mix.''

Before the deal with the Devil Rays was struck, the New York Daily News quoted Piniella in its Friday editions as being "disappointed'' with the Mariners' handling of the negotiations, and that he wants to "get on with my life.''

The Mariners released Piniella, 59, from the final year of his three year contract Monday. Piniella has said he wanted a job closer to his home in Tampa, Fla.

The Mariners have acknowledged they have spoken to at least three teams about Piniella. The third team has not been identified.

Talks between the Mets and Seattle apparently halted after the Mariners asked, as part of the compensation package, for players the Mets are not willing to give up, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Friday.

Among those are reportedly pitchers Aaron Heilman and Scott Kazmir and shortstop Jose Reyes, the newspaper said.

The New York Daily News said the Mariners were trying to clear salary by sending third baseman Jeff Cirillo to the Mets as part of the package.

Cirillo, a career .311 hitter who struggled all season after being picked up in a trade with Colorado last December, has $22.5 million left on the final three years of his contract.

The Seattle Times reported Friday that four teams were interested in exploring whether Piniella can be their next manager.

The Times, citing an unidentified source, that the Baltimore Orioles are the third team and that there was speculation the Cincinnati Reds were the fourth.

Gillick said he'd selfishly like to see Piniella take the job in Tampa Bay.

"I think it would be nice for Lou to come back to Seattle a couple of times a year and see the fans that love him,'' he said.

Gillick said the Mariners were focusing on the Piniella situation now, but planned to turn their efforts next week in the direction of hiring a new manager.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.