NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The winter meetings opened yesterday with Ken Griffey as the hottest name and the New York Yankees as the wettest blanket.

From all indications, the Cincinnati Reds have become downright eager to move Griffey and the $79 million he has remaining over the final six years of his contract. Naturally, the Yankees are interested, right? Wrong.

"Too much money, too much risk," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.

The Orioles? If the Reds want to talk about Griffey, 33, the Orioles are at least willing to listen, but as of last night, the two teams had not met here in Nashville.

Basically, the Orioles are keeping all their options open under new executive vice president Jim Beattie and vice president Mike Flanagan. Those two arrived here yesterday and jumped right into meetings in their two-bedroom hotel suite.

"We're going to explore every avenue," Flanagan said.

The Orioles entered these meetings hoping to find a big bat for the middle of the lineup and a shortstop to replace Mike Bordick.

At shortstop, they plan to spend the weekend assessing the trade market - especially the Montreal Expos' Orlando Cabrera and Toronto Blue Jays' Felipe Lopez - before turning back toward free agents next week.

The Orioles had not met with the Expos as of last night.

Beattie said the Orioles have interest in four free-agent shortstops: Deivi Cruz, Chris Gomez, Jose Hernandez and Rey Sanchez.

Cruz's agent Elliott Vallin said the Orioles have told him they'll get back to him on Monday. "They're still interested in Deivi," Vallin said, "but they want to see where they stand after the meetings. I gave them a ballpark idea, we're not trying to break the bank."

The biggest offseason goal has been to add a big bat to the middle of the lineup, and while the Griffey talk is interesting, free-agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez remains the primary target.

Yesterday, the Chicago Cubs said they were still in the hunt for Rodriguez, even though they just signed catcher Damian Miller to a two-year contract. The Cubs are scheduled to meet with Rodriguez's agent, Jeff Moorad, today. Moorad said yesterday that there is a third "team with significant interest" but declined to name it.

The Orioles hope to meet with Moorad this weekend.

Cliff Floyd, Hideki Matsui and Edgardo Alfonzo are still on the Orioles' list of potential free-agent signings. Jeff Kent's name hadn't surfaced as a possibility for the Orioles until yesterday, when Beattie and Flanagan indicated they have not ruled that out, either.

Kent, who hit .313 with 37 home runs this year, has not drawn much interest on the free-agent market, and it looks like he'll probably re-sign with the San Francisco Giants unless another club swoops in soon. Earlier in the offseason, Orioles officials had indicated they thought Kent, who turns 34 in March, was too old for an expensive, multi-year contract.

Internally, some Orioles officials have expressed doubts about Rodriguez, namely his health and his ability to nurture young pitchers. But this doesn't sound like it will scare the Orioles away from making an offer.

"These are things we would talk about," Beattie said. "What are his thoughts about working with our pitching staff, our young pitchers? All those things would be in our discussion.

"I don't know if it's a concern. A change of scenery gets someone excited. I was reading today where he was working out to prove people wrong, whoever those people may be. You like to try to catch players when they're in that frame of mind."

Matsui's agent, Arn Tellem, has been in New York talking with the Yankees and Mets, but the Orioles still feel they are in the running. They spoke with Tellem by phone Thursday and were hoping to talk some more this weekend.

NOTES: Bordick still intends to play this season, his agent Joe Bick said yesterday. The Orioles cut ties with Bordick last weekend, when they declined to offer him arbitration. He wanted a $2.75 million deal, the Orioles offered $1.5 million, and the two sides couldn't close the gap. Bick said Bordick still hopes to sign somewhere as a starting shortstop and would be willing to sign as a backup for a team with a legitimate chance of making the World Series. ... Longtime Orioles scout Fred Uhlman Sr. will be honored as baseball's East Coast Scout of the Year at a reception tomorrow.