Felix Hernandez will not play for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic because there is still work to be done on his contract extension with the Mariners.

He is in the middle of negotiations on a five-year contract extension worth $135.5 million, according to sources.

"We still have not reached an agreement, but we are moving forward," agent Wilfredo Polidor said. "At this moment, we have covered 70 percent of the road."

Polidor did not want to confirm the total amount of new money included in the contract extension, or the number of years.