The following article was in today's New York Daily News written by Bill Madden and Anthony McCarron:

 

While the Yankees continued engaging multiple teams in trade talks about Randy Johnson yesterday, they also came up with a possible option to replace him in their starting rotation: Barry Zito.

 

 

 

According to a baseball official familiar with the Yankees' thinking, if the Yanks are able to complete a trade involving Johnson - they have talked to the Diamondbacks and Padres, among others - they will investigate what it would take to sign Zito, the best starter left on the free-agent market.

 

If the Yankees' interest in Zito becomes serious, it would put them in direct competition with the Mets, who have been interested in the 28-year-old lefty all along. The Mariners, Rangers and Giants are also believed to be pursuing Zito.

 

If Zito is not the answer, perhaps Roger Clemens is. The Yankees want to convince The Rocket to make a dramatic return to the Bronx to join his friend, Andy Pettitte, who came back from the Astros earlier this month. Clemens, however, has not decided whether to pitch or retire, though Pettitte said last week he believes his buddy will play.

 

In any event, the Johnson trade talks have had an effect on the free-agent market, with executives around baseball wondering "how this affects Zito," as one National League official put it. "Do the Yankees move in on that?" the official added.

 

At the very least, the Yanks' potential involvement could delay Zito's decision as his high-powered agent, Scott Boras, tries to pit clubs against each other.

 

In an effort to have as many options open as possible, the Yankees are hoping to resolve talks about Johnson by the end of the weekend. In return for the 6-10 lefty, who has 34 victories in two seasons in New York but never has appeared fully comfortable, the Yankees want a player who can help them next season - at the very least. According to the official, the Bombers might be willing to kick in part of Johnson's $16 million salary for 2007 if it meant they would get better players in the deal.

 

Johnson has a full no-trade clause in his contract and, according to two baseball officials, the Yankees have not approached his representatives with a trade to approve. Johnson has not requested a trade, the executives said, but the Yankees began discussions with other clubs when GM Brian Cashman made a condolence call to Johnson after the recent death of the pitcher's brother and Johnson told the GM it was important to him to be near his family. Johnson's offseason home is in Paradise Valley, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, and he has family in California.

 

The Diamondbacks publicly acknowledged talks with the Yankees yesterday, when team president Derrick Hall told MLB.com that Arizona GM Josh Byrnes "has had significant talks with the Yankees, but we have not been able to make a match at this point."

 

Arizona is generally considered to be flush with young pitching talent, with Edgar Gonzalez, Enrique Gonzalez, Dustin Nippert, Ross Ohlendorf, Micah Owings and Dana Eveland among the most attractive young arms. While the D-Backs are mostly a youthful team, they could be looking to lure back Johnson, their franchise icon, to spark interest from fans - Johnson won four Cy Young Awards and a World Series ring with Arizona.

 

The Padres, meanwhile, could offer righty reliever Scott Linebrink, a player the Yanks have admired. But he stumbled in the second half last season, which may have cooled the Yankees' interest. Linebrink was 6-2 with a 2.74 ERA before the All-Star break last season, but was 1-2 with a 4.64 ERA afterward. One prominent agent said he had heard talk of the three teams being involved in a possible deal in which the Yankees would get Linebrink. The Dodgers are also believed to be involved in talks about Johnson. Hong-Chih Kuo, the Taiwanese lefty who started Game2 of the NLDS against the Mets, could interest the Yanks. The Giants are also believed to be interested.

I thought I read that the yanks didn't want to pay any part of his salary?

Yeah, from all I've heard they want no part in him. Who knows, Cashman and Boras are friends so nothing is out of the realm of possibility. I think the most likely scenario is Clemens, but they need to find a taker for RJ first.

if the yankees dont pay a good portion of RJ's salary, there's little chance he's going to Arizona.

if the yankees dont pay a good portion of RJ's salary, there's little chance he's going to Arizona.

yep. I dont' think he's going anywhere without them paying a good chunk of his salary.

just heard that a source says he should gone by this wekeend