We discussed Scott Boras' Matt Holliday–Mark Teixeira comparison yesterday. Today let's check out Boras' take on another of his high-profile free agent clients – Johnny Damon. Peter Botte of the New York Daily News has the quotes:
"Not that I've been thinking about this, but players who can get on the field every day and score 100 runs, how many guys do that? Johnny just plays, and he's got the body type that allows him to do that. If stem-cell research were around, you'd want to tap into that gene pool. He's (35), but has a 30-year-old's body. He plays much younger."
The best part is definitely, "not that I've been thinking about this." Also…is stem-cell research not around? Boras may also use a possible run at 3,000 hits as a selling point, but even he can't pitch a four-year deal for Damon.
Damon, 36 in November, hit .282/.365/.489 in 626 plate appearances this year. He played over 1,100 innings in left field, and UZR/150 found him below-average. There's speculation the Yankees will re-sign Damon or Hideki Matsui on a one-year deal and use that player partially at DH. Realistically, Damon's $13MM salary should be halved for 2010.
