BRIEFLY : REDS TRIM PAYROLL BY TRADING BRANTLEY.

The Cincinnati Reds traded reliever Jeff Brantley to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Dmitri Young on Monday, unloading $5.6 million in salary over the next two years.

The 34-year-old Brantley spent most of last season on the disabled list. He did not pitch after May 19 and had arthroscopic surgery June 11 to repair injuries to his right shoulder and rotator cuff.

The Reds are trimming their payroll, which topped $30 million last season, down to the range of $25 million.

Young, 24, has not spent a full season in the major leagues. He hit .258 with five home runs and 34 RBI in 110 games with the Cardinals this season.

Kansas City Royals right-hander Kevin Appier, from Antelope Valley High, tore ligaments in his pitching shoulder in a fall at his home and will undergo surgery today.

Appier is expected to have his arm in a sling for four to six weeks and should resume throwing after the first of the year, the team said.

Joe Brown, the head of the veterans committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame, said his group will talk about changing the shrine's rules after inductee Tommy Lasorda told a Washington newspaper that he was interested in managing the Baltimore Orioles.

The Colorado Rockies' Walt Weiss declined to exercise his $1.5 million option for 1998 in the final move made by players eligible for free agency.

NHL: Chris Simon, the suspended left wing of the Washington Capitals, finds out today if the NHL will further discipline him for shouting a racial slur at Edmonton Oiler Mike Grier, an African-American.

TENNIS: Pete Sampras, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, has committed to play in the 1998 Infiniti Open at UCLA. The tournament runs from July 27-Aug. 2.

Steffi Graf, saying she was behind in her training, withdrew from next month's inaugural Masters of Champions tournament in Frankfurt, delaying her comeback and angering organizers.

Local favorite Lisa Raymond broke open a tight second set with two service breaks of Helena Sukova to win her first-round match in the Advanta Championships 6-3, 6-4 at Villanova, Pa.

In another first-round match, Jennifer Capriati was dispatched by Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-1, 6-2, marking the fifth straight tournament that Capriati has lost in the first round without winning a set.

ETC: Defender Alexi Lalas has signed a contract to play the remainder of the season with Emelec in the Ecuadoran league, U.S. Soccer said. . . . Ousted New Mexico State basketball coach Neil McCarthy updated his breach-of-contract lawsuit to seek reinstatement and to allege his removal as coach was in retaliation for the lawsuit.