George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner, was enticed by the idea of getting Sosa's power and marquee presence; his executives were frightened by how such a trade would affect the organization.

The Cubs and Yankees reached a stalemate on Tuesday, and the Yankees explored other options. They talked with the Baltimore Orioles about B. J. Surhoff, and exchanged proposals for Oakland's John Jaha (offering Allen Watson) and San Diego's Ed Sprague. The Yankees still might try to acquire Jaha or Sprague.

Cashman called Mark Shapiro, Cleveland's assistant general manager, on a matter unrelated to Justice, and in the course of their conversation, Shapiro indicated that Justice was available. The Indians, like the Yankees, are a struggling American League power. Last week Justice infuriated club officials by suggesting the Indians' best years might be behind them. ''There comes a time when you say, 'Hey, maybe the window of opportunity is closing for them,' '' he said.

So with the Sosa talks at an impasse, Cashman began bartering with Cleveland General Manager John Hart. There were only three instances of brief contact between the Yankees and Cubs on Wednesday and Thursday, and in all three instances, it was Andy MacPhail, the Cubs' president, who made the call, reaching out to the Yankees. Each time, MacPhail was told that Yankees officials were having trouble reaching Steinbrenner. The Yankees were stalling, and the Sosa deal was dying.

Hart and Cashman settled on a deal about 5 p.m. today, and Cashman called the Orioles to call off the Surhoff talks, while Yankees President Randy Levine phoned MacPhail to end the Sosa discussions.

About a half-hour before tonight's game, Torre summoned Ledee into his office and told the outfielder -- who signed with the Yankees 10 years ago, when he was 16 -- that he was being traded.

Ledee said goodbye to Jeter, Posada and a few others, but could not face the rest of the team, fearing he would be unable to contain his emotions. His eyes were puffy and welled with tears when he spoke to reporters. ''It's sad,'' he said. ''It's very, very sad. I'm just sad I couldn't put it together with the Yankees, the team I wanted to be with.''