LAS VEGAS -- The next step in Raul Ibanez's possible departure from the Mariners occurred Sunday night when he rejected the salary arbitration offer made by Seattle.

Ibanez had until 9 p.m. PT to notify Major League Baseball whether he would accept arbitration, guaranteeing himself a substantial raise for one season. By rejecting arbitration, he can continue to seek a multiyear deal on the free-agent market.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik wasn't surprised by Ibanez's decision, nor did he rule out the possibility of the popular left fielder returning to Seattle in 2009.

"I think we could still talk," Zduriencik said. "I would certainly leave the door open because you don't know what's out there. You don't know what would work in his favor. I'm sure that if he would receive a multiyear deal from somebody, he would find that intriguing.

"But let's say that didn't happen, or let's say we can circle the wagons and talk a little more about doing something outside of offering just arbitration, then that could present itself on a couple of fronts. But I am not prepared to comment on that right now."

Ibanez's market value has not yet been set.

He is considered to be in the second tier of quality free-agent hitters, ranking well below Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira, but still could receive a three-year offer from another club.

If not, the Mariners would be more than willing to keep Ibanez.

"He's a very, very nice man and we have all the respect in the world for him. We will treat him with all the respect he deserves, and he deserves a lot of respect. I expect us to talk further."

Zduriencik said the organization was prepared for Ibanez's decision either way.

"If he would have said 'yes' to salary arbitration, we would have been happy to have him back, and really would have liked to have him back next season," Zduriencik said. "But under the situation, he is playing within the rules, and so are we."

Under those rules, if Ibanez signs with another organization, the Mariners would receive two Draft choices in next June's First-Year Player Draft.

The Mariners also would have to find a new left fielder and replace the 23 home runs and team-leading 110 runs Ibanez drove in last season.

"When we set our goals on what we needed to improve the club, one of the areas we talked about was left-handed power," Zduriencik said, "and we did sign a left-handed power bat [Russell Branyan]. I thought that was something we needed.

"Russell will fill a need there, and we still have Clement, another power guy. We have to decide how much time he gets behind the plate and how much time at the designated hitter spot, so possibly could have added two bats."

Zduriencik said the market and availability of certain players would dictate how the Mariners go about replacing Ibanez, and if it turns out that the position must be filled from within the organization, he mentioned Wladimir Balentien and Michael Wilson as candidates.

"We're going to look at all options," the GM said. "We also have some younger kids that might not quite be ready to break into the big league level, but this is going to be an interesting Spring Training, just because of the length of time [seven weeks] and the players that will be there for us because of the World Baseball Classic.

"By them not being there, [manager] Don [Wakamatsu] and all of us will get a chance to see a lot more players in game situations we wouldn't have had an opportunity to see in the past."