The Yankees have inquired about the availability of Baltimore outfielders Brady Anderson and B.J. Surhoff.
They have no shot at Anderson and would have to pay a steep price for Surhoff, according to Orioles sources.
As a player with 10 years of major league service and five in a row with the same team, Anderson has the right to veto any trade. Talks did not progress far enough to see whether Anderson would be open to doing so, according to a source.
Orioles owner Peter Angelos, a rival of George Steinbrenner, would not be willing to part with Anderson because he fears his speed, power and glove would energize the Yankees, but is more open to dealing Surhoff to The Bronx, according to an Orioles source.
Surhoff talks stalled when it became clear to the Orioles the Yankees were not willing to part with Alfonso Soriano, according to the source.
“They are firm about not trading Soriano,” the source said.
Surhoff has limited no-trade rights that enable him to block a trade to the Mets, but not to the Yankees. The Yankees’ New York contingent is in favor of letting Ricky Ledee handle left-field duties for now, while keeping a watchful eye on the availability of disillusioned Tigers superstar Juan Gonzalez. The thinking, from this wing of the organization, is that keeping Soriano and including him in a package for Gonzalez would strengthen the team’s chances of landing the two-time American League MVP.
Meanwhile, the Yankees’ Tampa braintrust succeeded in talking Steinbrenner out of his fascination with fading Devil Rays slugger Jose Canseco.
Steinbrenner was convinced Canseco was not the way to go even before one of baseball’s most colorful characters went on the disabled list Saturday, sidelined by a strained left foot.