NewsSheffield says he wants to stay with Mets
Soon-to-be free agent, 40, would 'love to come back'
By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com
08/11/09 8:07 PM ET
PHOENIX -- Gary Sheffield wants to continue playing baseball next season and he hopes he remains with the Mets in New York, he told MLB.com on Tuesday night before his club tried to redeem itself against the D-backs at Chase Field. "I would love to stay here," said Sheffield, who will be a free agent again at the end of the postseason. "But the feelings have to be mutual. I mean, I know what I can do and all that, but it depends on the direction the team is going in. "If I fit in that plan, I'd love to come back. But if I don't, I'll go someplace else." Sheffield said he's fully recovered from the nagging right hamstring injury that has sidelined him for almost a month. To that end, manager Jerry Manuel said the right-handed slugger would be back in the lineup on Wednesday for the final game of the three-game series and the seven-game trip. About the future, if Manuel has a vote, he'd certainly like Sheffield back with the team next season. "I'd like to see Sheff here, Sheff is a good player," Manuel said. "I think he could still be very, very productive at the age of 40. It all hinges on health. There's no doubt in my mind that this guy's going to hit until he's 50 years old. He's just that gifted and blessed." Sheffield hasn't played much since he left a game at Atlanta on July 17 with a cramp in his right hamstring. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list two days later and reactivated on Aug. 3. Sheffield left the game last Wednesday at St. Louis and has been out ever since, save for a pinch-hit appearance in Monday night's 7-4 Mets loss to the D-backs. Sheffield was released by Detroit at the end of Spring Training and signed by the Mets as a free agent. He's hitting .284 with 10 homers and 38 RBIs in 80 games. The 10 homers are the most of anyone on a team that has hit a National League-low 68. This is the last year of a two-year contract extension Sheffield signed with the Tigers that paid him $28 million. Because he was released, the Tigers had to pay this season's remaining $14 million while the Mets just paid the minimum of $400,000. It was to Sheffield's shock that the Tigers sent him packing. He said he shut down mentally after the Tigers released him and was prepared to remain at home this season. "I'm in good shape, but at the same time, it's all in your mind," Sheffield said. "When you shut down your mind, that's when all the trouble sets in. When they released me, I shut my mind down about even playing again. But once I got playing I realized I still have a lot left." Whether the Mets' hierarchy believes the same thing will be a matter of offseason conjecture.Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
