M's trade David Bell for Giants' Relaford

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SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners traded third baseman David Bell to San Francisco on Friday for infielder Desi Relaford and cash.

The Mariners didn't have a place for Bell after acquiring third baseman Jeff Cirillo from Colorado in a trade last month.

Bell, 29, told the Mariners he wanted to play every day and team officials said they would try to swap him to a team where he would have that opportunity.

The Mariners faced an arbitration hearing with Bell on Feb. 11.

"David was an important part of the ballclub the past few years," said Lee Pelekoudas, Mariners vice president for baseball administration. "When he accepted arbitration, it was a time when (second baseman Bret) Boone had accepted and we had already signed Cirillo, so there was no place for him to play here. All parties recognized that the logical thing was to find David a home. We're happy to be able to accommodate him and the Giants are happy to have an every day third baseman."

The Giants didn't have a regular third baseman last year after trading Bill Mueller to the Cubs in the offseason. San Francisco tried Russ Davis at third along with Ramon Martinez.

Bell hit .260 last year with 122 hits, 15 home runs and 64 RBIs.

Relaford, who has played six years in the majors and was originally drafted by Seattle, agreed Jan. 11 to a one-year contract worth $1,275,000 with the Giants. He was acquired from the New York Mets with outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo last month for left-handed pitcher Shawn Estes.

Relaford, 28, hit .302 with 27 doubles, eight homers and 36 RBIs in 120 games for New York last season. He also has played for Philadelphia and San Diego.

"Desi gives us a lot of options off the bench," Pelekoudas said. "He can play all three infield positions and he's a switch hitter who can run."

The Mariners had been talking to the Giants "for quite some time," Pelekoudas said.

"It's been a long process finding David a home," he said. "It turned out they had an opportunity and we gave them permission to talk to David and his agent."

Relaford was drafted by the Mariners in 1991 and played in their farm system before being traded to Philadelphia on July 31, 1996.