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In brief

Defector Contreras agrees with Yankees

The Yankees' need to cut payroll ends at the U.S. border.

For the second time in less than a week, baseball's biggest spender broke its budget for a big international acquisition, reaching a preliminary agreement Tuesday on a $32-million, four-year contract with Cuban defector Jose Contreras.

Last week, the Yankees agreed to a $21-million, three-year deal with outfielder Hideki Matsui, Japan's biggest slugger. The agreement with Contreras means the Yankees will have eight starting pitchers on the roster as soon as their deal to re-sign Roger Clemens is completed.

"We couldn't, the right word is we wouldn't, sacrifice the opportunity to sign these talents on the basis of reducing payroll first," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "The mind-set is still for me to reduce payroll. Obviously, when the opportunities to sign Hideki Matsui or Jose Contreras presented themselves, it was time for us to make decisions, to move now and continue to work on cutting the payroll down the line."

Contreras, a right-hander who says he is 31, got the largest deal ever for a Cuban defector, topping the $14.5-million, four-year deal Cleveland gave pitcher Danys Baez three years ago. Contreras throws in the mid 90s, and the Yankees envision him as part of their rotation.

"We just need time to shake things out between now and spring training," Cashman said. "Time will tell. We certainly have an abundance of depth and quality depth. That's a position of strength."

Contreras was the top pitcher on Cuba's national team until he defected in October. He was 13-4 with a 1.76 ERA last season and had a 117-50 record with a 2.82 ERA in seven seasons in Cuba. He beat the United States on one day of rest in the championship of the 1999 Pan American Games, striking out 13 in eight innings.

"For me, it's an honor to play for the Yankees," Contreras said in San Fernando de Masaya, Nicaragua. "I really sacrificed some money to play for the Yankees, but for me they were the team I wanted to be with."

MORE BASEBALL: Pitchers Jose Rijo and Pete Harnisch agreed to minor-league contracts with the Reds, giving them a chance to prolong careers interrupted by elbow operations. ... The Red Sox signed free-agent relief pitchers Mike Timlin and Chad Fox to one-year contracts. ... Chris Singleton agreed to a $1.4-million, one-year contract with the Athletics. ... Right-handed reliever Jay Witasick agreed to a $2.75-million, two-year contract with the Padres and catcher Gary Bennett signed a one-year, $700,000 deal. ... Catcher A.J. Hinch signed a minor-league contract with the Indians. ... Former Blue Jays manager Tim Johnson, who was fired in 1999 after lying about his military service in Vietnam, was named manager of the Lincoln Saltdogs of the Northern League.

NBA: Patrick Ewing's No. 33 jersey soon will hang from the rafters of Madison Square Garden. The Knicks will retire the number of their former center during halftime of their Feb. 28 game against the Magic. Ewing, an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards, spent 17 years in the NBA, the first 15 with the Knicks. He averaged 21 points and 9.8 rebounds in 1,183 games and was selected as one of the 50 greatest players in league history.

GOLF: European Ryder Cup officials will seek $1.6-million from the PGA of America to help offset the cost of increased security at the event. The request comes because of the higher cost of staging the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in September, The Scotsman newspaper reported. The matches were postponed one year because of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The Europeans spent $4.4-million on security, substantially more than the anticipated $800,000.

TENNIS: Greg Rusedski won't be on Britain's Davis Cup team against Australia in February because he still is getting in shape after foot surgery. The big-serving left-hander also isn't sure if he will be ready for the Australian Open starting Jan. 13. He returned to training in the past two weeks. Rusedski told Davis Cup captain Roger Taylor he planned to play in Qatar the first week of January, giving him some idea if he could play in the Australian Open. But the switch from hard courts to clay, the surface chosen by Australia, could hurt his injured foot. "I don't want to put the Davis Cup team in a difficult position by giving them last-minute notice if I had to withdraw," Rusedski said. "I'm not sure how my foot will react in Doha, let alone the Australian Open."

HOCKEY: Werner Kohler, the president of the Swiss Ice Hockey Association, resigned amid a probe into allegations he may have made personal gains when the association sold and bought back marketing rights to games.

HORSES: Keeneland is considering drastic changes to its July sale after Kentucky's thoroughbred industry was hit by hundreds of foal deaths last year. Keeneland board member Alice Chandler, owner of Mill Ridge Farm, said a decision probably will be made early next month. Chandler would not rule out eliminating the July sale. The July sale long has been the thoroughbred world's coming-out party for platinum yearlings. ... ... Financially ailing Vernon Downs in New York was ordered to close at the end of the month.

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