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Davidoff On Damon, Draft Picks, Pavano, O's

Newsday's Ken Davidoff has his Baseball Insider column up (subscription required); let's take a look at the highlights:

• The Yankees would love to have Johnny Damon back. The catch there is that they'd love to have him back for $2MM, which Davidoff doesn't see happening. I agree Damon doesn't seem likely to take that drastic of a pay cut, but his options are dwindling.
• Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says the club acquired Curtis Granderson to be their center fielder, though some scouts have said Granderson struggles in center and is better suited for left field. The Yankees could use Brett Gardner in center, who doesn't profile as much of a corner outfielder offensively anyway.
• MLB and the MLBPA are actively working to alter draft pick compensation for relievers. Davidoff writes that the Elias Ranking system fails Type-A setup men in particular. Most teams are unwilling to sacrifice a draft pick for an eighth inning role, leaving Type-A setup men with little choice but to accept arbitration. The current goal is for the rankings to favor saves more and wins less.
• Tom O'Connell, the agent for Carl Pavano, did well to accept arbitration from the Twins and guarantee Pavano $7MM. As Davidoff points out, O'Connell guaranteed his client more money than a free agent such as Doug Davis, who signed for one year and $5.25MM with Milwaukee.
• In this separate piece, Davidoff praises the work the Orioles have done this offseason, bringing in Kevin Millwood, Mike Gonzalez, Garrett Atkins, and most recently, Miguel Tejada.

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