The Yankees were willing to send Vazquez and top prospects Dioner Navarro and Eric Duncan to Los Angeles as a way to get Johnson. Los Angeles would deal Green and pitchers Brad Penny and Yhency Brazoban to the Diamondbacks.
``We're at the point where we've decided the best thing we can do is have no comment,'' Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick said.
Johnson and Green both have no-trade clauses. While Johnson wants to play for the Yankees, Green may want to stay close to home in Southern California.
"I think Shawn always envisioned finishing his career with the Dodgers," agent Greg Genske said. "But if a trade is put in place, he's going to consider all of his options."
At 41, Johnson is owed US$16 million in the last year of his contract. The five-time Cy Young winner has long caught the eye of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who spent the afternoon meeting with top club officials at Legends Field, their spring training home.
Green also is set to make US$16 million, a year after slumping to .266 with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs. The Diamondbacks might be in good position to lure the 31-year-old outfielder to the desert -- his former agent, Jeff Moorad, is Arizona's new chief executive officer.
The Dodgers had a couple of things to clear up, too.
After losing free agents Adrian Beltre and Steve Finley, Los Angeles may be reluctant to trade away its lone remaining power hitter.
Plus, there's a money matter: Vazquez is due US$35.5 million over the next three years, the Dodgers might want the Yankees to pick up some of that cost, perhaps so much that the deal would need approval from the commissioner's office.
And, what would be baseball's biggest deal of the winter could get even larger. There was speculation the St. Louis Cardinals might want to become a part of this trade.
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