The New York Yankees have no plan to allow Hideki Matsui to play in the Olympic tournament in Athens next year, general manager Brian Cashman said Thursday.
Cashman said the American League club does not permit any of its players to leave the team during the regular season to play in other tournaments, but added that the Yankees had given the green light to Matsui's participation in this fall's Asian qualifying meet.
Baseball sources earlier said the three-year, $21 million deal Matsui and the Yankees agreed on in December includes a clause allowing him to play in the Olympic qualifiers to be held in Sapporo in late October through early November.
Major League Baseball and the players' union are now discussing the possibility of sending major league players to the Olympics.