Juan Gonzalez Wants Back In

It was bound to happen sooner or later – Igor, aka Juan Gonzalez, is attempting another return to the Majors.  Published reports in Puerto Rico named the Angels, Tigers, and Orioles as interested parties.  Update: the Orioles aren’t interested after all.  And the Tigers denying interest as well.  Ah, there we go – the Angels are not pursuing him.  That was awesome – each team systematically denied any interest in Gonzalez within a few days of the rumor surfacing.

The slimmed-down Gonzalez spent last year in the Atlantic League and he’s currently playing in the Caribbean Series.  Baseball Prospectus’s Derek Jacques reports:

"Juan Gonzalez makes the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz look nimble and flexible. Watching him run the bases, I constantly expected to hear a loud snapping sound followed by a trail of body parts. Igor still has the long looping swing, but his bat speed isn’t where he can really turn on Dessens’ heat in the third. He’s trying to cheat, and it just isn’t working."

Last year, Gonzalez was said to be in the best condition of his life and supposedly drew interest from the Cubs, White Sox, Red Sox, Athletics, and Rockies.