Jason Schmidt almost signed with the Mariners four years ago -- his agent told Seattle that the pitcher was coming its way, but the pitcher had a change of mind overnight. Schmidt has said publicly he is open to returning to the Giants, the team that beat out Seattle for his services at the 2002 winter meetings. But sources say there seems little chance of the right-hander's returning to San Francisco for the 2007 season. He has hinted in the past few weeks that he'd like the chance to pitch for Seattle. He's going to probably require a contract in the four-year, $48-$52 million range, and it's not clear that the Mariners want to commit to four years with a pitcher who will turn 34 in January.