Joe Torre is about to have the proverbial “good” problem, though good problem or bad, it’s still a problem. When Gary Sheffield returns, which is apparently possible as soon as this week, the Yankees will officially have more good players than they know what to do with.

Their current outfield of Melky Cabrera in left field, Johnny Damon in center, and Bobby Abreu in right field is the best defensive unit the Yankees have had roaming the big pastures at Yankee Stadium in some years. Hideki Matsui is a functional left fielder but often gets fooled on balls hit right at him. Bernie Williams was never a top-flight defensive outfielder even during his Gold Glove-winning years. Gary Sheffield generally caught what he could get to, but what he could get to was limited due to routes that seemed to mimic the flight of the bumblebee.

This outfield, with strong arms in the corners, has been a boon to a pitching staff with a thin margin for error. In fact, the entire Yankees defense, with the arguable exception of Alex Rodriguez, has been an unheralded component of the team’s success. In recent years Yankees fielders have often been stiffer than a Borscht Belt comic playing to a Baptist congregation, but this season the Yankees have one of the best records of turning balls in play into outs. Their fielding trails only the Detroit Tigers in the American League.

As such, the contortions through which Torre will have to put the defense to accommodate Matsui, Sheffield, and Jason Giambi are not worth the cost.While Melky Cabrera is only about half as good as any of the three with the stick, he solidifies left field. Matsui could play there, freeing up designated hitter for Sheffield. Sheffield could play there, having spent three seasons in left, the last of which was five years ago, for the Dodgers. However, he seems like the most dubious alternative.

Sheffield is also being tried at first base. There’s no way of knowing if he has any ability at this position —a total novice could actually be worse than Giambi — but this would force Matsui to left, possibly compromising the defense at two positions.

Giambi has had wrist and other nagging problems of late. If time off over the remainder of the season will benefit him in the playoffs, Sheffield as a first baseman becomes another matter altogether. Giambi has split his time between designated hitter and first base all season. Unfortunately, this has led to the Yankees experiencing the offensive equivalent of one of those tiled number puzzles, where moving one piece simply opens up a gap somewhere else on the board. Yankees first basemen whose names do not end in a vowel — Andy Phillips, Craig Wilson, Aaron Guiel — have been punchless, and the same can be said of non-Giambi designated hitters.

This means that the disposition of Matsui and Sheffield (not to mention Bernie Williams, whose ability to sock lefties, undiminished by time, has largely been forgotten by Torre) actually has consequences for the rest of the season — home field advantage is nice to have — and for the playoffs, where the Yankees offense will need to perform at its best to overcome the substantial limitations of the pitching staff.

Unknown at this point is just how thoroughly Matsui and Sheffield have recovered from their injuries. Wrist injuries attack a hitter at his most essential point and recovery is not always linear or predictable. Think of Nomar Garciaparra, who suffered a similar injury in 2001. He too missed most the season, and when he returned he was still good, but he wasn’t the same old Nomar. The days of hitting .350 or better were gone forever.

Garciaparra was 27 years old when he got hurt, youthful and resilient. Sheffield turns 38 in two months. His strong wrists are a substantial part of his offensive game, and if Sheffield can’t recover that last minute snap he’s not going to be worth the dislocations he causes to accommodate getting him onto the field.

As for Matsui, Tuesday’s heartwarming 4-for-4 performance may or may not be meaningful.

The Yankees will confront the greater part of this puzzle during the off-season, when they will have to decide how much prominence Cabrera will have in 2007. He is a major league player, that much is clear. What’s not certain is whether he will hit enough to justify both declining Sheffield’s option (probably a given at this point) and not replacing him with something similarly potent. Right now, Cabrera’s only skill is getting on base. That’s the best skill to have, but a corner outfielder is expected to do more.

Cabrera is quite young and might develop more power, but it’s not a certainty. More intriguing is the possibility that the Texas Rangers may look to divorce themselves from infielders Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock, who are apparently not fans of Buck Showalter.

Teixeira, still just 25, has been something of a disappointment after last season’s 46-home run performance but has still been very productive.He’s also a superior defensive first baseman, making him just what the doctor ordered for the Yankees.

Adding a first baseman who can actually play defense would freeze Giambi (signed until the end of time) at DH, force Matsui back to left field, and put Cabrera on the bench or at Columbus until such time as someone got hurt. In that exchange the Yankees would gain some defense and lose some defense, but the transaction would be a net positive.

That may be the best solution for next year. For now, Cabrera is the best bet to keep the Yankees defense solid through October, leaving Sheffield to be the world’s most overqualified pinch-hitter and reserve first baseman.

Mr. Goldman writes the Pinstriped Bible for www.yesnetwork.com and is the author of “Forging Genius,” a biography of Casey Stengel.