The Non-Starter Gary Sheffield Rumor

Another rumor that overlooked yesterday in wake of "Joyce-gate" is one that perhaps should remain overlooked.  A little birdie told Jon Paul Morosi in Las Vegas that the Texas Rangers, who already danced the trade tango with the Detroit Tigers earlier this week, had "some interest" in trading for designated hitter Gary Sheffield. 

The thought of Sheff's increasingly unwieldy presence being cleared from the roster, thus perhaps opening up the DH spot for Carlos Guillen or Magglio Ordonez, set some hearts aflutter in Tiger Town.  But this rumor came with a huge qualifier.  The Rangers, despite needing to replace the soon-to-depart Milton Bradley, weren't interested in taking on payroll.  (After all, having to pay Gerald Laird in excess of $2 million was one reason he was dealt to Detroit.)  So if such a trade was to be made, the Tigers would more than likely have to eat a huge chunk of Sheff's $14 million salary for next season. 

Was there ever a chance of this happening?  Well, SB Nation's Rangers blog, Lone Star Ball, didn't post anything about it, and Adam covers everything, so that should tell you what he thought of the rumor.

And as it turns out, this whole thing may have been a non-starter to begin with.  MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Tigers and Rangers did, in fact, have a conversation about Sheffield, but it really didn't go anywhere.

Said one Rangers official, "We would consider it if they wanted to give him away, but we're not going to spend money there."

Meanwhile, both Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski expect Sheffield to put up good numbers next year, after an offseason during which he won't have to recover from wrist or shoulder surgery.  And a healthy Sheff might be - might be - a happy Sheff.  Here's hopin'.