Ken Griffey Jr. will be back in Seattle at some point this season for a much deserved tribute from the team and its fans, but if he’s going to return to the team in any other role, it will likely be next year.

Agent Brian Goldberg and team president Chuck Armstrong were scheduled to talk today about possible roles for Junior with the Mariners beyond this season, but none had been determined.

There was some confusion Thursday over whether Griffey might return in some role this year, and that report caught the Mariners off-guard because it hadn’t been mentioned when Junior told them of his retirement.

At some point, the Mariners want to honor Griffey appropriately at Safeco Field, and that almost certainly will happen in the near future. As for a longer-term role with the team, that will wait for 2011.