December 17, 2006 -- Despite the buzz leaking out of the desert, Randy Johnson hasn't asked the Yankees to deal him closer to his Arizona home.

"He hasn't called me officially and asked me to trade him, no," GM Brian Cashman said yesterday when asked if the Big Unit requested the Yankees move him.

Cashman, asked if he was attempting to move Johnson, who has a blanket no-trade clause and is 20 wins shy of 300, wouldn't comment. Alan Nero, one of Johnson's agents, said there was no truth to the rumor.

"There is nothing coming out of our camp," Nero said. "I don't know where rumors start."

Johnson, who is working his way into shape after October back surgery, is one of six starting candidates for five spots in the Yankees' rotation - and that's before Roger Clemens possibly comes along. Johnson will be the first to admit his two years in The Bronx haven't been vintage, but the 43-year-old lefty has won 34 games (17 each season). He went 17-11 with a 5.00 ERA last year while pitching with a bad back.

Even if Johnson asked to be dealt, the Yankees wouldn't be dealing from strength.

- Often-injured Carl Pavano is one of the six candidates, and he hasn't been in a big-league game since June 2005. Like Johnson, Pavano is working out in Phoenix at Fischer Sports, a physical therapy and conditioning center.

- Kei Igawa, a Japanese lefty, is part of the half-dozen. Not only isn't Igawa signed, it's not known if he even can offer back-of-the-rotation help.

- Johnson's age and injury situation could force teams to shy away from him. Then there is the case of the $16 million owed to him for 2007.

- The Diamondbacks are closest to Johnson's home, but they were the ones that dealt him to the Yankees because they wanted to shed the contract of a 40-plus pitcher with back and knee issues. The Angels, Dodgers, Padres and Giants are closer to Arizona than The Bronx, but would they be willing to pay Johnson's salary and give the Yankees at least prospects in return? Seattle, where Johnson pitched from 1989 to 1998, is shopping first baseman Richie Sexson ($28 million for 2007-08). Though the Yankees, who would prefer a right-handed hitting first baseman, would save $2 million in 2007, it would cost them $14 million in 2008.