ESPN.com
Gary Sheffield has decided to accept the Yankees' three-year contract offer for between $36 million and $38 million, sources close to the free-agent outfielder have told ESPN's Peter Gammons.

Sheffield did not finalize details of the deal with George Steinbrenner on Saturday; the Yankees principal owner was at a Tampa, Fla., hospital with longtime Yankee assistant Billy Connors, who suffered a heart attack Friday and underwent quadruple bypass surgery. But Sheffield has told friends the deal is done, Gammons reports.

It was initially reported that Sheffield wanted more money from the Yankees and that he was even considering re-signing with the Braves.

New York may wait until after the Dec. 7 deadline for teams to offer salary arbitration to former players who became free agents to finalize the deal with Sheffield, a baseball official with knowledge of the Yankees' deliberations said on condition of anonymity.

If the Atlanta Braves don't offer arbitration to Sheffield, the team that signs him after Dec. 7 would not lose any amateur draft picks as compensation.

The Yankees moved quickly in the wake of Curt Schilling agreeing to accept a trade to Boston. They're also active in the market on other fronts:

The Yankees are close to a two year, $7 million deal with reliever Tom Gordon that is expected to be announced soon, a source told Gammons.

Yankees officials declined comment on the Gordon negotiations, but weekend discussions between the club and agent Rick Thurman were described to ESPN as "intense."

Meanwhile, it was believed that Gordon would wait until free-agent reliever Keith Foulke decides between the Athletics and Red Sox to make a decision, since Gordon and Eddie Guardado are Boston's backup plan.

The Yankees also are interested in free-agent outfielder Kenny Lofton, although sources have told Gammons that no formal offer has been made to Lofton's agent, Casey Close.

Sheffield, 35, has played for the Brewers, Padres, Marlins, Dodgers and Braves during a productive, albeit sometimes stormy career. With the Braves last season, he hit .330 with 39 homers, 132 RBI and 18 stolen bases.

Dwight Gooden, Sheffield's uncle and a former Yankees pitcher, helped convince the All-Star to seriously consider the Yankees.

Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams, said it has not been determined when a deal with the Yankees would be completed.

"A deal is done once it's inked, and we're not at that point," Williams said.

The Yankees are looking for a corner outfielder to go with regulars Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams. Last season, after they traded Raul Mondesi to Arizona, the Yankees used Karim Garcia, Juan Rivera, David Dellucci and Ruben Sierra in right field, with mixed results.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Good. The guy's a choke artist in the playoff's. I don't want him. Now we have money to sign some players that will help our team and re-sign some of our own.

Now the Yankees can have him going 1 for 22 in October.

LOL :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

i agree. Sheffield has choked in the playoffs two seasons in a row.

What happened to all that "I want to retire in Atlanta...I'll stay where I'm happy for less money" talk. :rolleyes:

BTW, the Yank$ signed Flash Gordon for $3.75 million a year. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

What a waste!

JoltinJacket Wrote:BTW, the Yank$ signed Flash Gordon for $3.75 million a year. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

What a waste!

i get the feeling they dont care too much about wasting money

JoltinJacket Wrote:BTW, the Yank$ signed Flash Gordon for $3.75 million a year. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

What a waste!

at first i thought it was a waste also. But if you look at Gordon's past numbers and his numbers from this year, you'll notice he was awesome, and still has a lot of K's left in his tank. For most teams that's too expensive, but for the Yankees, a team who desperately needs bullpen help, it's a good move.

You guys are really jealous and in denial, aren't you. I don't want to diss on anyone, but i feel i need to bring this to attention: Do you actually think the Yankees have more money than everyone else? If you said YES, then you're wrong. Each team is owned by many investors who have millions. just because they choose not to spend it, doesn't mean they don't have it. the Yankees are just willing to spend more than other teams, because the investors want the team to win. Also, whenever you hear the owner's name in many signings, it's not because he spends the most money, it's because he is the Managing Partner. He, like many investors, owns' a piece of the team, but his name is always out there because he was the one chosen to run and control the team.

So don't think for a second the yankees have that much more money than the Brewers. It's just, the Yankees choose to spend more.

In the end i agree with Steinbrenner, in that there should be a minimum salary cap.

a minumum and a maximum cap

JoltinJacket Wrote:What happened to all that "I want to retire in Atlanta...I'll stay where I'm happy for less money" talk. :rolleyes:

Sheff is so wish-washy. You always have to take what he says with a grain of salt.

tysramm1 Wrote:a minumum and a maximum cap

a max cap would ruin baseball, just as it's done to football.