ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will meet today with Lou Piniella and offer him a contract to become the team's next manager.

Citing "sources familiar with the Devil Rays' plan," the New York Daily News reported that Tampa Bay's offer will be for four years and a total of $13 million to $14 million.

Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar spoke Monday with agent Alan Nero and arranged a meeting for today that also will include Piniella and Devil Rays managing general partner Vince Naimoli.

Piniella has a year remaining on his contract as manager of the Seattle Mariners, but has expressed a desire to work closer to his home in Tampa.

Last week, the Devil Rays received permission to talk to Piniella after they agreed to provide compensation to Seattle in the event they sign the manager.

The Devil Rays, who had the lowest payroll in baseball at around $34 million last season, are believed to be prepared to offer a deal with an average salary in excess of the $2.5 million Piniella was to earn in Seattle next year.

Nero, who has said Piniella also would like to talk to the New York Mets about their managerial opening, did not return telephone messages from The Associated Press.

However, Nero suggested to a New York newspaper Sunday that Piniella could still return to the Mariners if negotiations to free him from his Seattle contract do not work out to his liking.

"He still could go back to Seattle," Nero told Newsday for Monday's editions. "He has a contract. He never resigned. All we wanted was an opportunity to see if he could go home."

Nero's comment are a 180-degree turnaround from Piniella's earlier stance, in which both sides maintained that he is finished with the Mariners. And while Seattle appears to have honored his request, opening the door for him to be hired by the Devil Rays, Piniella's frustration stems from the Mariners' fruitless negotiations for compensation with the Mets.

''There's nothing new to report. I can't comment on specifics of an ongoing situation,'' Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz told The Associated Press.

There is a perception that Seattle is almost forcing Piniella to take the Devil Rays' job, or sit out, by refusing the Mets' compensation offers. New York has provided two lists of prospects for Seattle to pick from.

"Regardless of who's at fault, Seattle has made a circus out of this," Nero was quoting as saying in the Seattle Times on Monday. "That doesn't seem to be right. I thought Lou meant a lot more to the Seattle organization than to be treated like some kind of commodity.

"He wants to talk to the Mariners. He's got strong feelings about Seattle. He left a lot of heart and soul there, but he wants to be home."

The Devil Rays said Saturday's initial meeting with Piniella and Nero was ''positive and constructive.'' Lamar spoke with the agent again Sunday, while Piniella was in Arizona attending the funeral of a friend.

Tampa Bay fired Hal McRae with one year remaining on his contract after losing a franchise-record 106 games this season. Besides Piniella, the team has talked to six other candidates -- none with big league managerial experience -- about filling the job.

The others interviewed were Oakland Athletics bench coach Ken Macha; New York Yankees coaches Willie Randolph and Lee Mazzilli; Tampa Bay coaches Billy Hatcher and Tom Foley, and Devil Rays minor league manager Bill Evers.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.