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Karim Garcia was cut loose Friday by the New York Yankees, a day after he was charged with assault and battery for brawling in the bullpen during a playoff game in Boston.
New York also cut David Dellucci and agreed to a $900,000, one-year contract with infielder Miguel Cairo. In addition, left-hander Gabe White accepted the Yankees' offer of salary arbitration, making him a signed player.
Yankees general
manager Brian Cashman said Garcia and Dellucci will not be offered 2004 contracts
by the Saturday deadline, making them free agents.
With the signing of Gary Sheffield to play right field and the imminent deal
for Kenny Lofton, who will compete with Bernie Williams in center, Garcia and
Dellucci became superfluous. New York also has Ruben Sierra as an emergency
backup.
In addition, the Yankees ran out of room on their 40-man roster. Right-hander Eddi Canderlario was sent outright to Triple-A Columbus on Friday, clearing space for White, and Lofton still hasn't been officially added.
``They were grinders,'' Cashman said. ``But with where we were on the 40, these were the only practical choices I could make.''
Garcia hit .305 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 151 at-bats for the Yankees, who acquired him from Cleveland on June 25.
Garcia and reliever Jeff Nelson, who became a free agent after the World Series, were charged Thursday in Boston for their actions in Game 3 of the AL championship series along with Paul Williams, a part-time Fenway Park groundskeeper.
Clerk Magistrate Michael Neighbors called the case against Nelson and Garcia ``weak.''
Dellucci, obtained from Arizona on July 29, batted .176 with one homer and four RBIs in 51 at-bats, missing a month after badly spraining his left ankle on Aug. 28.
Cairo, 29, hit .245 with five homers and 32 RBIs in 92 games and 261 at-bats for St. Louis last season. He had 33 starts at second, 15 in the outfield, four at shortstop and two at third.
White, acquired from Cincinnati on Aug. 31, was 2-1 with a 4.38 ERA in 12 1-3 innings for the Yankees and will join Felix Heredia as the left-handed setup men for closer Mariano Rivera. His agent Bo McKinnis, informed Cashman of the arbitration acceptance Friday.
``We had a good visit and will continue working toward a multiyear deal,'' McKinnis said.
David Wells rejected the Yankees' arbitration offer and has until Jan. 8 to finalize the minor league contract his agent has been negotiating with New York.
A day earlier, the Yankees traded left-hander Chris Hammond and $1.2 million to Oakland for a pair of minor leaguers, right-hander Eduardo Sierra and infielder J.T. Stotts.
Also Friday, the Yankees' Triple-A Columbus farm team said Bucky Dent will return as manager but former Ohio State football great Hopalong Cassady will not return as a coach.
Cassady, a Heisman Trophy winner with the Buckeyes, will work as a special assistant to the Yankees in Tampa, Fla., the Clippers said.