Sheffield Is Officially on the Block

In a stunning move that will cast a shadow over the Dodger season, all-star left fielder Gary Sheffield has demanded either to be traded or given a lucrative contract extension, putting the club in an untenable position and stirring further turmoil under Fox.

“I just had a meeting with my staff and we’re all in a state of shock,” Chairman Bob Daly said Sunday night at Dodgertown. “I don’t understand it and I don’t know what to say.”

General Manager Kevin Malone spoke with several teams about Sheffield during the weekend because the Dodgers have decided to make a deal in the wake of demands made last week.

He hopes to receive equal value for the only player in Dodger history to bat .300 with 30 home runs, 100 runs batted in, 100 runs and 100 walks in each of two seasons.

“It’s a difficult task to say the least, but that’s what we’re faced with,” Malone said of trading Sheffield, who batted .325 with 43 homers, 109 RBIs, 105 runs and 101 walks last season.

“We have to examine all of our options and do what’s best for the Los Angeles Dodgers.”

Jim Neader, Sheffield’s agent, informed Daly and President Bob Graziano of Sheffield’s desire to leave in a meeting Feb. 9 at Dodger Stadium that was scheduled to present the club’s 2001 marketing plan that prominently featured the six-time all-star.

After the presentation, Neader requested that Sheffield be traded to the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets or Yankees before the season, or be given a “lifetime-contract extension” comparable to this winter’s dizzying free-agent deals, and a signing bonus to elevate the 12-year veteran among the majors’ highest-paid players until his new contract took effect.

“We were told it was a great marketing plan for Gary, then in the next minute we were told he wanted to be traded to those three teams,” Daly said. “It was like a kiss and a slap.”

Shocked, Daly demanded to meet with Sheffield, who on Feb. 13 reaffirmed he wanted an extension, or to play closer to his off-season home in St. Petersburg, Fla., because of family concerns.

But Sheffield--acquired from the Florida Marlins in the 1998 Mike Piazza trade--offered to reconsider his position if the club gave him the extension and bonus, Daly said.

Contacted at his Bel Air home late Sunday, Sheffield denied that money is a factor in his decision.

“That has nothing to do with this,” said Sheffield, the club’s franchise player. “It isn’t about money, it’s about the disrespect I’ve had to deal with since I came here. Every year I hear my name mentioned with some trade for some other star player. They’re going to trade me to Cleveland, or here or there, and I’m just tired of dealing with this all the time.

“Why should I continue to perform the way I have for them if I’m going to be dangled out there like that all the time. That brings a lot of insecurity, and I don’t want to deal with that any more. Obviously, they don’t appreciate me, so why not just send me someplace where I will be appreciated?”

Sheffield said he has not spoken with the Dodgers recently and does not plan to report to Dodgertown for spring training.

Dodger position players are scheduled to report today, and all players must report no later than Feb. 27 under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

“No, I’m not going down there,” he said. “Why should I? I was told the trade is going to happen any minute, so I’m going to stay here. I’ll go to spring training with my new team when the players’ association says I have to go.”

Daly said he repeatedly assured Sheffield the Dodgers did not plan to trade him, but Sheffield has forced the club’s hand with his confusing stance.

“We had opportunities to trade Gary and we didn’t do it,” Daly said. “When people came to us about Gary [at baseball meetings] we shut it down immediately.

“We did not pursue any other offensive free agents. I sat in a room with him for an hour and I don’t know what any of this means. I just don’t understand it.”

Sheffield said Daly failed to convince him of his value to the team.

“I’m out with my wife, trying to enjoy my off-season, and everywhere I go people are saying something about me getting traded,” he said. “I understand this game and I know you can be traded, I know that comes with the territory.

“But why should I be the one here who always has to deal with this? Why me? I asked the Dodgers to deny this stuff publicly and they didn’t do it. What good is it denying it to me? Everyone is still out there talking about it.”

Sheffield is under contract through 2004, having signed a six-year, $61-million deal with the Marlins that pays him $9.5 million until 2002, $11 million in 2003 and $11 million in a 2004 club option. He also received $5 million to waive his no-trade clause in the Piazza deal, and the Marlins forgave a $2.5-million loan.

Daly declined to offer Sheffield an extension, citing the length of his remaining package, the club’s upcoming free-agent concerns and baseball’s unsettled labor situation.

On Thursday, Daly faxed a letter to Neader summarizing the matter and outlining possible solutions.

Daly requested that Sheffield remove the Mets and Yankees from the 12 teams on his no-trade list, waive his right to demand a trade after next season, as a player traded in the middle of a multiyear contract, and agree to play under the terms of his current contract.

He also listed the possibilities of the Dodgers eventually offering him an extension, Sheffield remaining with the Dodgers under his current package or being traded to any of 18 teams.

In response to Daly’s letter, Neader and Sheffield faxed a letter to the Dodgers.

Sheffield agreed to waive the Mets and Yankees from the list, play under his current deal and not demand a trade.

In updating Sheffield’s trade list in October, Neader informed the Dodgers he would block deals with the Mets, Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners.

Daly instructed Malone to try to make a deal with the three teams on Sheffield’s wish-list in a 72-hour window that ended Sunday.

Now, Daly no longer cares about Sheffield’s list, telling Malone to make the best deal for the team.

“The one thing Gary Sheffield will not do, what no player will do, is dictate how we run our team,” Daly said. “No one will put a timetable on when the Los Angeles Dodgers will make a trade.”

Sheffield’s contract stance and his right to demand another trade after this season could affect the compensation the Dodgers receive in a deal.

“Gary Sheffield is a hell of a player, and I believe we will get value for him,” Daly said. “We might not get a player who hits 43 homers, but there are players out there who can help the Los Angeles Dodgers.”

But the once-stable Dodgers are on the ropes again after another tumultuous event in Fox’s tenure at their helm.

“There has to be a break,” Daly said. “It has to come eventually.”