At least for the foreseeable future.

Melvin called off the proceedings when several days passed without hearing from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. New York was busy getting free agent acquisitions CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett into pinstripes, but the Yankees also reportedly had second thoughts about acquiring Cameron and his $10 million salary for 2009.

At the end of the winter meetings in Las Vegas, it appeared the sides were on track for an exchange of Cameron for center fielder Melky Cabrera, with left-hander Kei Igawa thrown in as well. At the time, Melvin said he considered it a "strong possibility" the deal would get done within a week.

There had been some dickering back and forth about money, with the Yankees wanting the Brewers to take Igawa's $4 annual million salary for the next three years in exchange for New York assuming Cameron's $10 million pay in 2009.

"The deal was never necessarily done," Melvin said. "You never know what's going to happen when you leave ideas with someone. That's the way the market is. There are a lot of things moving around out there."

Melvin said the primary motive in possibly trading Cameron to New York was to gain some financial flexibility to shop for pitching help. But Melvin said that didn't mean he'd look for another suitor for Cameron.

"I'm not necessarily shopping him," said Melvin. "The Yankees had expressed interest. The only reason to do it was to regain some flexibility to pursue pitching. But the good pitching is drying up anyway.

"I'm very happy to have Mike Cameron as our center fielder. He was very productive for us last season. There's a reason why he's in the playoffs all the time. I'm very fond of him."

Melvin said he would continue to look for pitching but seemed willing to wait to see how the market shakes out. After the top free agent pitchers sign, many general managers believe there will be bargains in January due to the declining economy and resultant cutbacks by some clubs.