There has been some contact between Hideki Matsui and the Yankees this offseason, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Yankees, who have also been in touch with Johnny Damon, appear to have just $1-2MM to spend on a DH. That would likely be enough to sign the 37-year-old Matsui, who’s coming off a disappointing season in Oakland.
Matsui posted a .251/.321/.375 line with 12 homers in 583 plate appearances last year. He recovered from a slow start to produce better results in the second half (.753 OPS after July 1st), but the average DH posted a .265/.340/.429 line in 2011, so the positionless Matsui hasn’t drawn much interest. A return to Oakland doesn’t seem likely and no other teams have been publicly linked to the Wasserman Media Group client.
Hmm…Damon or Matsui? I don’t think we will get Pena on 1-2 million especially to be a bench player. He will want to start. Don’t make me choose!
You consider it a close contest between Damon and Matsui? Really? …Really?
2011 Stats:
Matsui: .251/.321/.375/.696, 12 hrs, 72 rbis
Damon: .261/.326/..418/.743, 16 hrs, 73 rbis
At this point of their careers, both players aren’t much different. Both Damon and Matui are 38 and 37, respectably. I would say Damon is probably a little better at this point given he has been more productive on a consistent basis and has a higher OPS than Matsui. Both are obviously not the bats they used to be and neither is very good defensively.
Damon? Maybe. Matsui? Maybe. Posada? Who? Is he that much worse than Matsui?
Man, didn’t realize Mastui had fallen so far. That slash line + 0 defense = minor league contract
Matsui certainly deserves more than a minor lge deal but I hope the Yanks pass.
Pretty sure going from Yankee Stadium to Oakland would ruin any hitters line.
I love Matsui but I don’t think he’s a very good option. About the same as Damon without the defensive ability.
They should just deal Hughes to free up some money for Pena.
Would dealing Burnett and eating 20 million or so not be more beneficial?
Yeah, if any pitcher gets dealt…..It’s Burnett. Period.
Yankees can put Bay at DH. Bay for Burnett straight up…
Burnett has a partial no-trade clause and it’s going to be tough to convince any team to take him. And hell no on the Bay trade LOL
Hahahaha…I would love for the Mets to get rid of him. Although I can see Bay doing better at Yankee Stadium.
At this point, who is going to trade for Burnett? At this point, he looks like someone who will probably be DFA’d/released. That’s not a bad trade proposal though, given that both have failed to live up to expectations and have similar salaries owed to them through 2013. Bay would be a good fit at Yankee Stadium being a DH. However, I’m not quite sure the Mets are going to want Burnett.
As sad as this may sound, Burnett would automatically be our ace as soon as he gets here. lol
I would personally take Santana (given he’s healthy), Dickey, and probably even Gee over Burnett for being their ace haha. However, the Met’s starting rotation isn’t looking too good right now haha.
P.S. Dickey has been pretty solid for the Mets the last couple of years. I’m surprised no one has had interest in him through trade, even if his numbers may appear deceptive. Maybe that changes at the Trading Deadline if he continues to pitch efficiently though.
Sorry chief, but adding AJ Burnett to the Mets’ rotation would be nothing more than adding a second Mike Pelfrey (or is it the other way around?), and we can’t even deal with the one we have. >:(
[[shudder]] Huy! I’m starting to feel kind of nauseous just thinking about this…
Haha…me too my friend, me too (barf).
I think AJ would do well in the a big NL ballpark. All of his peripherals are still solid, evident by his 3.86 xFIP.
Way to severe of a reaction to Burnett. He has pitched 185+ innings 4 years straight. While he hasn’t played no where near the actual value of his contract, he still hasn’t been that bad. I love how people think he’s to the point where he’ll be outright released. And then you say you’re not sure the Met’s would want him? Please a hard throwing guy with nasty stuff? The Met’s don’t want his contract, that’s for sure, but more than half the teams with a need for pitching would take Burnett for 2 years if the price was right.
Yeah let’s just toss away a 25 year old pitcher earning $3 mil to sign a $8 to $10 mil DH.
damon will hit more homers than matsui with “damons deck” in right..plus he can still play the feild an use his speed..damon over matz
His fielding is pretty brutal.
They are both pretty bad on the field.
Plus, the question isn’t which one would you prefer; it’s a matter of cost.
I don’t see Damon signing for 1 mil. I don’t even think they need any of these guys. Just use the DH spot for the veterans and use Jones on any other day. If anything, look in the minors to see if there is anyone that can hit but is getting too old to be a prospect. (Shelley Duncan type)
They have Jorge Vasquez, AAAA power masher extraordinaire.
Neither Damon nor Matsui belongs in the field. Both would have to play left field and I’d rather see Jones in LF before I see either of them.
Enough with the reunion. Either spend for a good DH or go in house with someone like Andruw Jones or something. Don’t spend for the sake of spending. Carlos Pena is a great fit. I think he is the best fit. I say either go for Pena or use Jones and wait for the deadline.
Pena is looking for $5-$10 million and wants to be a starter. He would only be a part time player for NY.
He would be the STARTING DH.
Against LHP, it would be Andruw Jones. If he was starting it would be against RHP. A batter who will only bat in some games and will not field at all and has a batting average around the mendoza line should not get paid $10 million.
He would be the full time DH and BA is terrible way of telling how good a player is. Look up is OBP and OPS. He walked over 100 times last year.
I agree OBP is better but BA is not terrible.
By the way, .260 OBP (Yes OBP) vs. lefties and a .594 OPS
As I said, he would be a part time DH, not full time, with maybe an occasional game at 1B every now and then.
He’d start at least 120 games(barring injury). He’d be getting 75% of the starts at DH as the DH vs RHP plus whatever spot starts he gets at 1B. That’s more than part time.
I suppose, but is that worth $10 mil?
It’s GODZILLA!!!!!
all i keep reading is about who will be better on defense. neither one will be playing defense as the yankees are looking for a DH. they resigned andrew jones, so they can put him in the OF in case of an injury or someone needs a day off. and although damon would be nice, i believe matsui still has enough pop to put up atleast 20 HR’s as a DH and maybe around 75 RBI’s but best option would be to bring back posada for one more year, or trade hughes to someone like the dodgers for Loney.
Posada and his Ego back? no thanks.
One of the better hitting catchers for the late 90s and early 00s, third best catcher to ever play for the Yankees, a guy whose stats last year against RHP is still above average for DH, and a familiar guy who’d fit right in while creating some major PR gain? No thanks!
Wouldn’t it be cool if Kuroda and Matsui would be in the same team? At least they’ll both have someone to communicate with, in their native language.
Plus some Japanese revenue!
Matsui is consider a true Yankee, unlike Damon and Pena… and he’ll come cheaper than both, plus a chance to retire with the team he started with.
Perfect fit Imo.
And if Okajima makes it to the major league roster (how likely is that? I’m curious), it’ll probably be the first time in major league history a team has 3 players named Hi**ki on their 25 man roster!
Oh geez, another useless stat for Michael Kay and Susan Waldman to yap about for 2 hours.
A “true” Yankee? Wow. So would Darvish be a “true” Ranger if he signs with them? I think Sox fans would cringe if we called Dice-K a “true” Sox. I guess it depends on if you suck or not…haha
Yankees, Bernie Williams Have Been in Contact
Yankees should just sign Barry Bonds 🙂
Honestly speaking…..wouldn’t mind Manny.
Damon, Matsui… Hell get Giambi on the phone
Does anybody here know the current condition of Adam Dunn? I didn’t get to see him much last season, but his numbers fell off a cliff. What’s up with that? Did his bat slow down that much? Did he put ridiculous pressure on himself because of his contract? It’s hard to imagine that he could possibly have declined that quickly as a hitter.
He hit just .159 last season; thankfully (or not) he fell 8 PAs short of qualifying for the batting title. I think that he is finished. It was sad watching that—at least Dunn as allowed to finish out the season, but I think that this is it.
Derek Lee is still a free agent. Why not sign him to DH?
Why not just go with Chavez, for 75 games, he would be worth it
Matsui is washed up. His bat speed has really slowed the past two seasons. When that happens, the end is very near.
My boy Manny Ramirez will take the job
What about making another trade?? Now that the yanks seem to have a plethora of young arms, maybe flipping a guy like Betances makes sense. The yanks need help with the infield depth, a guy who can be relied upon to come in and produce when AROD and Jeter need a day off or end up on the DL. I’m curious as to how available David Wright is, he would shore up the D on the left side, and would slide AROD over to a full time DH job thus keeping his bat off the DL. Maybe Betances + Sanchez + Waren/Williams gets that done?????
C Martin
1b Tex
2b Cano
3b Wright
SS Jeter
LF Gardner
CF Granderson
RF Swisher
DH AROD
Jeter Granderson Wright Cano Arod Tex Swisher Martin Gardner