The number of players involved in a potential Sammy Sosa trade to the New York Yankees remains a sticking point. But the Yankees have made another offer, ESPN's Peter Gammons reported Wednesday.

	Carlos Rodriguez, the manager of Sports World in Chicago, cuts the prices of Sammy Sosa Cubs jerseys in anticipation of a trade.

The Yankees are willing to part with four players and have made this offer to the Cubs, according to Gammons: left fielder Ricky Ledee; minor leaguers Jake Westbrook, a right-handed pitcher, and Jackson Melian, an outfielder; and the choice of minor league infielder Alfonso Soriano or reserve infielder D'Angelo Jimenez.

The Cubs, however, are holding out for at least five players and might want six if the combination of players is not right. Officials from the two teams are continuing to talk Wednesday. But the Cubs don't have the leverage of a bid from a key Yankees rival, the Boston Red Sox. Reports in Chicago and Boston say the Red Sox no longer are in the running and in fact never went as far as making a trade proposal.

While the sides still have ground to close, Sosa and his agent, Tom Reich, are pressuring the Cubs to make a deal.

"We always thought it would be forever in Chicago," Reich said Wednesday, "but that's not going to be the case. It would have been preferable, but it's not going to be the case."

Reich, a good friend of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, told the Chicago Sun-Times that he expects "to be able to conclude a deal. ... I don't expect to fail."

"I just sit back, relax and wait," Sosa said. "I'm just waiting for anything to happen."

Baylor: 'It's taking its toll'

Cubs manager Don Baylor all but pleaded for a resolution of the Sammy Sosa situation Wednesday, saying the trade rumors are distracting a team that is 2-6 on a season-long 12-game road trip. "It's taking its toll on this team, and it's probably taking its toll on the team they're talking to," Baylor said. "It's a distraction. Everybody is kind of sitting on pins and needles, waiting for something to happen. "It's gotten to the point where something has to happen. We can't continue to play like this." Then, referring to baseball's trading deadline, he said, "July 31? It's almost like it's happening every day. It's on everybody's mind. It's a huge distraction for everybody." But Sosa said the talks shouldn't have any impact on any Cubs player but him. "They don't have to deal with it, I have to deal with it. I don't think it would be so bad for them ... they can sit back and relax and wait," Sosa said. "As long as I'm here, I'm gonna smile. If I go somewhere else, it's not my fault." -- AP

Asked if the Cubs, slumping badly for a second successive season and clearly in need of a facelift, might have a change of heart and re-sign him to a new contract, Sosa said, "I don't think so. ... If they were going to do that, they would have done it a year ago."

Sosa's contract runs through 2001, but the Cubs apparently are not willing to meet his reported request for a new contract worth $15 million to $20 million a season.

Sosa has hit more homers in less time -- 149 since Opening Day 1998 -- than all but a few players in baseball history. But the Cubs apparently are convinced the fastest way to get better, and soon, is to trade one of the most popular and successful players in their history.

"They say they want to rebuild this team, and I guess this is the only chance they have to go out and get some good players," Sosa said, noting that the Cubs are "going down one road, I'm going down another."

Cubs president Andy MacPhail wants the discussions settled, one way or the other. And Yankees manager Joe Torre has suggested to club executives that for the good of the team, they should make a deal or move on, according to a report in Wednesday's New York Times.

The situation was confused by developments in Monday night's game in Columbus, Ohio, where two players talked about by the two clubs -- shortstop Alfonso Soriano and pitcher Ted Lilly -- were scratched from the lineup. Outfielder Jackson Melian was scratched from his game with Double-A Norwich. But sources told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that Lilly isn't even expected to be part of the trade.

In addition to Soriano and Melian, the Cubs reportedly have sought Ricky Ledee, pitching prospect Alex Graman and two more players. Reports that the Yankees also would have to take back oft-injured pitcher Ismael Valdes were also described by sources as incorrect.

"There's no reason for this thing to be prolonged any further," Andy MacPhail, the Cubs' vice president, said in a telephone interview with The Times on Tuesday. "I will push for this to come to a resolution one way or another shortly. It's not that hard. We can agree, or we can agree to disagree."

Torre said, "Make it happen, or make it go away."

The Yankees, meanwhile, continue to explore other potential deals for a hitter -- including Houston's Moises Alou, Baltimore's B.J. Surhoff and Oakland's Matt Stairs.

ESPN.com senior writer Jayson Stark contributed to this report.