DODGERS TO GO NEW DIRECTION DEAL SENDING SHEFFIELD TO A'S STALLS; CARDS NEXT.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

BOSTON - The Dodgers' mega-deal with Oakland has deteriorated to a proposed trade that would send outfielder Gary Sheffield to the Athletics for outfielder Jermaine Dye, baseball sources said Wednesday.

However, the Dodgers remain adamant about not making a deal unless closer Billy Koch is in it, the sources said.

Because of the change in the deal, the Dodgers have looked in other directions and are trying to identify a match with St. Louis to send Sheffield to the Cardinals for several players.

The Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals met Wednesday for the second consecutive day, with the Dodgers exploring avenues other than the acquisition of outfielder Dye and Koch for Sheffield and two pitchers.

The Cardinals are aggressively pursuing Sheffield to fill out a lineup that already boasts J.D. Drew, Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols and are offering a potpourri of players. Included were former closer Dave Veres, situational lefty Mike Matthews, shortstop Edgar Renteria and a prospect, a baseball official familiar with the talks said.

The Dodgers, who would be looking to replace Sheffield's bat, would turn around and make a run to sign free-agent outfielder Moises Alou, but his asking price of more than $10 million per season might be too much.

The Dodgers also are considering making a run at Arizona free agent Reggie Sanders to replace Sheffield's bat, if the left fielder is traded, sources said. Sanders batted .263 with 33 homers and 90 RBI, but his market might slide to $4 million per season.

Sheffield has a limited no-trade clause, but St. Louis isn't on his list of blocked teams.

However, one potential stumbling block for the Dodgers is salary. Although the Dodgers would lose $20.5 million in payroll for Sheffield, the team could take on $15 million in payroll over the next two seasons.

The talks headed in that direction because Oakland general manager Billy Beane told the Dodgers he wanted to explore other options and because he didn't want to part with the recently acquired Koch.

According to a report in Chicago, Beane was working on a deal to send Dye to Chicago as part of a package for Brian Giles.

Beane added he expected Koch, acquired Friday in a deal with Toronto, to be with the Athletics when the season begins.

``We're anticipating that the first save of the season will come from Billy Koch,'' Beane said. ``Anticipating and definitive are two significantly different words.''

One baseball official said he was uncertain whether the Dodgers would make a move before the winter meetings end Friday morning, but Dodgers general manager Dan Evans said he was certain the Dodgers would improve themselves before the start of the season.

``We'll improve this club, no question,'' Evans said. ``We have a number of things that are beyond the preliminary stage.''

Evans has yet to meet with Scott Boras, the agent for right-hander Chan Ho Park, and negotiations with several other teams are progressing. It means the Dodgers might get left behind in talks and be unable to catch up.

The Dodgers also appear to be out of the running for free agent David Weathers, the top set-up man on their list heading into the offseason. However, the Dodgers cooled on him when the Chicago Cubs offered salary arbitration, which would require the Dodgers to surrender a No. 1 draft pick to sign him.

Weathers was close to signing a three-year deal with either the New York Mets, Baltimore or St. Louis, sources said. To that, the Dodgers have turned their attention to Detroit free agent Todd Jones or Chicago White Sox set-up man Bobby Howry as their next choice.

In addition, the Dodgers continued discussions with the Toronto Blue Jays about acquiring left-handed pitcher Felix Heredia.

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A sticking point for the Dodgers to send Gary Sheffield to Oakland is that Billy Koch, pictured, must be included in the deal.

Frank Gunn/Associated Press