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Yanks could be interested in Sheffield
TAMPA Fla. (AP) -- George Steinbrenner isn't ruling out a possible trade for Gary Sheffield, who wants out of Los Angeles. "I don't know if we can afford it with what we have right now," the New York Yankees owner said Monday. "He's a good guy, but he has a big contract." Sheffield has asked to be traded to either the Yankees, New York Mets or Atlanta. The Yankees appear set with Bernie Williams in center, Paul O'Neill in right and Shane Spencer in left, with Henry Rodriguez as a backup and DH David Justice able to play the outfield, too. "It's another team's player," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "It is nice to know people out there think we've been doing the right things." The Yankees project they will have an opening-day payroll of $110 million to $111 million, third in the majors behind Los Angeles and Boston. Steinbrenner would like his team, which led the majors at $113 million last season, not to be No. 1 on opening day. New York manager Joe Torre said he didn't think Sheffield wanted to play for him, specifically. "I think it may be the Yankees," Torre said. "It doesn't surprise me -- I'm not saying Sheffield, that's tampering, it's just that players like what we do. That's a compliment. Hopefully, we can continue to do it." Yankees pitcher Dwight Gooden has talked with Sheffield, his nephew. "He felt it was time to move on," Gooden said. "Mostly, I just told him let the agent and the team handle it and try and stay out of it as much as you can." Gooden said Sheffield has talked about playing in New York since he was a kid. Sheffield was in New York for the playoffs and World Series last year. "Obviously for me, I'd like to see him here," Gooden said. "But the Mets, that would be an ideal fit for him as well. Put him in the middle of the lineup with Piazza -- two hitters like that, you'd have to throw to one of them." Sheffield is signed to a $61 million, six-year contract that pays him $9.5 million in each of the next two seasons and $11 million in 2003. The deal include an $11 million team option for 2004. "I know he talked to them about an extension. He said he was going to do that," Gooden said. "I don't know what happened in that conversion. If I had to guess, probably something was said when he asked for that he didn't like." When asked if Sheffield would want an extension to join the Yankees, Gooden said "not at all." "The Mets -- I don't know," he added.
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