Mariners decline 2011 options on Erik Bedard, Jose Lopez, and Russell Branyan - MLB

Seattle declined a trio of 2011 options today: Erik Bedard for $8 million, Russell Branyan for $5 million, and Jose Lopez for $4.5 million.

Bedard and Branyan are now free agents, while the Mariners still control Lopez as an arbitration-eligible player. However, there’s a strong chance they’ll non-tender him by the December 2 deadline unless they can find another team interested in dealing for him before then.

There’s also a small chance they could decide to keep Lopez while hoping he receives a modest raise on his 2010 salary of $2.3 million coming off a career-worst season, perhaps giving him a chance to recoup some value before looking to deal him at midseason (or sooner, if 2009 first-round pick Dustin Ackley is ready to take over second base).

Bedard missed the entire season following shoulder surgery, so declining his option was a no-brainer, but choosing not to bring Branyan back for $5 million is somewhat surprising considering the Mariners traded a pair of prospects to the Indians for him in June. Neither player was a top prospect and picking up a half-year rental is obviously commonplace throughout baseball, but 101-loss teams usually aren’t doing the renting.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.

The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.

In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.

Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.