Leyland Hedges on Future Plans

Jim Leyland says he doesn’t want to manage the Florida Marlins next year if their payroll is reduced to $12 million, a possible target disclosed recently by team President Don Smiley.

Smiley, organizing a group of investors to buy the team, plans another drastic reduction in the payroll for the 1999-2001 seasons, with a goal of $12 million to $16 million.

“Don Smiley knows I wouldn’t want to be here if we had a team with a $12 million payroll,” Leyland told the Miami Herald in a telephone interview from Houston. “I don’t think any manager would want to go through that.”

Leyland previously had declined to comment on Smiley’s plan, revealed last week. Cutting the payroll in half from the current $33 million would likely mean trading stars Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Alex Fernandez and Charles Johnson, among others.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a payroll of $17 million in 1996, the year Leyland resigned as their manager because he was frustrated about the team’s financial situation. The Marlins had a payroll of $53 million when they won the World Series last year.

Leyland’s contract runs through 2001, but he has a buyout clause that pays him a $500,000 bonus if the team is sold and he quits within two weeks after this season.

Smiley hopes his group’s purchase of the Marlins from Wayne Huizenga will be approved next month.

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J.D. Drew, who starred with the St. Paul Saints last season during a contract stalemate with the Philadelphia Phillies, is returning to the Twin Cities to start the season with the Northern League team again.

But the Saints don’t expect him to stay long.

“Optimistically, he could be here the first two weeks of the season,” Manager Marty Scott said.

Drew, expected with the team today, is awaiting a decision from arbitrator Dana Eischen on his future. The outfielder could be declared a free agent or be returned to the player pool for this year’s draft. The Phillies’ rights to Drew expire one week before the June 2 draft.

The Phillies made Drew the No. 2 pick in last June’s amateur draft, offering a contract that could pay up to $3.4 million, depending on his performance, plus a $2.6 million signing bonus. But Drew wants a package worth $11 million.

Drew hit 18 home runs in 44 games for the Saints last year, earning $700 a month.

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The New York Mets acquired catcher Rick Wilkins from Seattle for a minor league player.

The Mets need help at catcher because Todd Hundley, Tim Spehr and Todd Pratt are all on the disabled list.

“With all the injuries to our catchers, Rick gives us flexibility behind the plate and is a complement to our other right-handed hitting catchers,” Met General Manager Steve Phillips said.

Wilkins, 30, hit .195 (eight for 41) with one homer and four RBIs in 19 games for Seattle this season.

The Mariners received left-handed pitcher Lindsay Gulin from the Mets. Gulin, 21, was 1-1 with a 2.33 earned-run average for Port St. Lucie of the Florida State League.

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Cincinnati Red starter Steve Cooke was arrested early Tuesday after leaving a bar and was charged with drunk driving. Cooke is on the disabled list because of elbow tendinitis. . . . San Francisco Giant first baseman J.T. Snow will return to the lineup Thursday. Snow recently returned to the team after traveling to St. Louis, where he visited his mother, who is ill. . . . Houston put pitcher Mike Magnante on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right calf muscle. . . . Milwaukee put right-hander Chad Fox on the 15-day disabled list because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder, leaving the team without one of its top relievers.