The Detroit Tigers released Gary Sheffield today, according to ESPN.com. The 40-year-old outfielder was one home-run shy of the 500 plateau, placing him in a historic group which includes the likes of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson, and just 19 others.

 

Sheffield can now be signed by any team for the $400,000 minimum, with Detroit paying the remainder of his $14 million salary in the final year of a two-year, $28 million extension. "I wouldn't say I'm shocked, but I am surprised. To do this when somebody is one home run away...I don't know how to react to it," Sheffield stated. Shoulder issues limited Sheffield to a total of 247 games and a .245 average during his stay with Detroit. Only four current players (Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez) are ahead of him on the all-time home-run list. The former All-Star has played for the Brewers, Padres, Marlins, Dodgers, and Yankees, and is also 27th on the all-time RBI list with 1,633.

 

The move came on the heels of the acquisition of outfielder Josh Anderson from the Atlanta Braves in exhange for a Detroit minor-leaguer, and the Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly interested in Sheffield following the release of Geoff Jenkins.

 

 

Third baseman Chipper Jones signed a three-year, $42 million contract extension today, which should ensure that the 36-year-old long-time Brave will finish his career where it began.

 

ESPN.com reports that the deal will run through the year 2012, and a team option could make it worth $61 million over four seasons. Jones will receive $13 million from 2010 to 2012, as well as an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on games played. The contract also contains an option in 2013 for $9 million that could reach as high as $13 million if additional games played criteria is met. He is already set to earn $10 million this season in the option year of a deal that began in 2006, and he gets a $3 million signing bonus to be paid out at $1 million per year over the next three seasons as part of the new deal.

 

Jones is a 6-time All-Star and former MVP winner in 1999. He is the only switch-hitter in MLB history with at least 300 home-runs and a .300 career batting average, and his 408 career home-runs rank him third all-time among switch-hitters behind Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray.

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Evan Nuckles is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey.

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