Jays To Trade Clemens This Week

Toronto general manager Gord Ash hopes to complete a trade for Roger Clemens this week.

The five-time Cy Young Award winner has asked the Blue Jays to move him to a contender or closer to home, and Toronto said it will comply.

The New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are thought to be the top contenders, with the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves also in the mix. Ash said six-to-eight teams are serious contenders, but wouldn't identify them.

Ash said he would try to narrow the field "early in the week" but wasn't sure when he'd be able to complete a deal.

"It's not a unilateral decision, so I couldn't tell you," he said.

The Yankees' top officials are to convene in Tampa, Fla., on Monday to decide if they want to be involved in attempts to trade for Clemens, who went 41-13 for the Blue Jays and won consecutive Cy Young Awards.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is a big fan of Clemens and tried to sign him two years ago but said he wants input from his baseball people before deciding his next move.

In addition to working out the package of players Toronto wants in return, the other team also will want to talk with Clemens, whose contrac expires after the 2000 season. As a veteran traded during a multiyear contract, he would have the right to file an official trade demand following the 1999 World Series.

He has salaries of $5 million next year and $6.35 million in 2000, and Toronto owes $5 million in deferred money from the first two seasons of the deal, which currently guarantees a minimum of $31.5 million over four years.

When Clemens signed with Toronto after the 1996 season, then-Blue Jays president Paul Beeston promised that if the pitcher became convinced Toronto wouldn't contend, he could ask for a trade and the team would accommodate him.

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