Gary Sheffield's sore left wrist kept him out of the New York Yankees' starting lineup for the second straight day against the Texas Rangers, and the right fielder said he won't play again until he's completely healthy.

Sheffield could be headed to the disabled list early this week.

"I won't go until it's ready, and right now it's sore and stiff," Sheffield said prior to yesterday's game. "I'm going to take the extra time and make sure it's right. When it's right, then I'm playing."

The 37-year-old Sheffield ruled out a cortisone injection to ease the pain and swelling.

"Been there, done that. I did that earlier in my career, and I'm not doing that again," Sheffield said. "It's too late in my career to be getting cortisones and the side effects for later on."

Sheffield was hurt April 29 when he collided with Toronto's Shea Hillenbrand at first base. He missed three games before returning as a pinch-hitter Thursday night. Sheffield, 0 for 5 Friday night in his first start in five games, was replaced in right field by Bernie Williams yesterday.

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Nationals: Nagging pain in his right forearm still bothers Washington starter John Patterson, who probably won't pitch for another week. "He's not able to do his rehab," manager Frank Robinson said yesterday. "It's time to give it an extended period of rest to see if it does clear up because it certainly hasn't cleared up the way we've gone about it so far." Patterson hasn't pitched since April 21.

Cubs: Pitcher Kerry Wood struck out 12 in five scoreless innings during a rehab appearance yesterday with Chicago's Class A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs. In Peoria's 5-3 win over Lansing in 10 innings, Wood, who has been on the disabled list since March 28 with a shoulder injury, gave up one hit, one walk and hit a batter.

Athletics: Oakland placed right fielder Milton Bradley on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained muscle in his right side. Bradley, who also has been hindered by a sprained right knee, had already missed nine straight games since hurting his knee in a game April 25 at Texas.

Brewers: Milwaukee right-hander Ben Sheets missed his scheduled start against the Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday because of stiffness in the front of his shoulder. Sheets' next outing was rescheduled for Thursday at San Diego.

Pirates: Pittsburgh placed infielder Joe Randa on the 15-day disabled list because of a bruised right foot. Pittsburgh recalled infielder Jose Bautista from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace Randa.

Mets: New York Mets right-hander Victor Zambrano will miss the rest of the season after tearing a tendon in his pitching elbow. Zambrano left Saturday's 6-5 win over Atlanta after facing just four batters, and striking out three.