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June 29, 2005
Sheffield: "If the Yankees Trade Me, I Won't Go"
Will Refuse to Report to New Team if Traded
Handcuffed by huge-contracts, no-trade clauses, poor play and injuries the Yankees don't have a lot of flexibility in terms of which players can be traded or would have value to another team. Gary Sheffield is one of the few players who can actually be traded that isn't named Cano or Robinson who might actually bring a player of value back to the Yankees, given that he's been productive for the Yankees at the plate. And he since he doesn't have a no-trade clause he can be traded without his permission. However, while Sheffield doesn't have an official no-trade clause in his contract, he has created an un-official one that may be a roadblock for the Yankees as it's likely to scare off the majority of teams that would be interested in him.
In today's New York Times Sheffield is quoted as saying ""I'm not going anywhere. If I have to go somewhere, I won't go. If they said, 'Wouldn't you want to get paid?' I'd say, 'I've got plenty of money.' I'm not playing nowhere else. I can promise you that." Sheffield has said some truly ridiculous comments in the past but this one just about takes the cake. He is signed to a contract through 2006. If the Yankees trade him he has no choice but to report to his new team unless he retires. Players can't just refuse a trade unless they have a no-trade, which he doesn't have so I don't know what he's thinking.
Some are saying how wonderful it is that Sheffield made that comment, as if it's a sign of how much he loves the Yankees and playing for the team. Well, that's sugar-coating what Sheffield is saying. Because in essence he is saying that he will sabatoge any deals that the Yankees put together that include him, even if it might help make the Yankees a better team. That is not reflective of a team-first player, that is a player who is selfish and only thinking about his own self-interests. Being traded isn't what he wants so he's going to make sure it doesn't happen. Well, there are lots of players who are traded who don't want to go to their new teams, sometimes leaving in tears, but unless they have a no-trade or essentially want to throw their careers away they must go.
Sheffield doesn't even say that he loves playing for the Yankees. What he's saying is that he will refuse to play for another team. So his issue may be that at this point in his career he was no interest in moving himself and his family to another city, one that may be completely foreign and have to get used to a new team with new teammates in a different league - again. It may have absolutely nothing to do with how much he does or doesn't enjoy playing for the Yankees or how much he likes his current teammates.
Of course Sheffield saying this now doesn't preclude him changing his tune if another team were to sweeten his contract to motivate him to agree to the trade. That may very well be what he's trying to leverage. After all, this is a man who wanted his contract renegotiated after he had already signed it because he felt "underappreciated." Sheffield says that he's got plenty of money but if he really felt that way he wouldn't have complained about his contract and the money he was getting several times this season.
But no one should be surprised at any of this. When it comes to Sheffield his career is littered with many incidents of this nature. He mouths off, complains and causes trouble and in-between the teams he plays for just hope that he plays well. Which he is doing for the most part as a Yankee. So despite my dislike for Sheffield I'm not anxious for them to trade him because I think he could be an asset to the team if they somehow manage to make the post-season this year. However, I wish once in a while he would just decline to comment rather than being "honest" and saying things that he would be better off keeping to himself.
Posted by silverdsl at June 29, 2005 10:42 AM