John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle looks at every MLB team and tries to see which might have interest in free agent outfielder Barry Bonds. Bonds is the top offensive threat remaining among free agents, and he’d probably command a low-risk one-year deal. If teams are truly all saying no, they are basically saying that Bonds’s baggage outweighs the extra wins he provides.
I am still not on board with popular opinion, which seems to be that a fan would rather see his or her baseball team lose than have a known steroid user join up. I suppose that’s the moral high ground, but personally I want my team to load up with the best available players even if they are the scum of the Earth. That’s just me. (I’m a Cubs fan, maybe losing makes me desperate).
According to Shea and various newspapers, the following clubs are out of the running:
Dodgers
Indians
Rangers
Red Sox
Angels
Blue Jays
Tigers
White Sox
Cubs
Yankees
Mets
Shea names the Giants, Padres, and Orioles as the main suitors, with the Red Sox and Angels perhaps considering it later after things settle. In a strictly baseball sense, I think the Twins, White Sox, Rangers, Braves, Marlins, Dodgers, and Cards should be in on him. Perhaps one of those clubs will stomach the cheating and emerge as a dark horse.
