Crede For Damon Declared Dead?

They say that if you love something, you have to set it free.  MLBTR conjured up a speculative Johnny Damon for Joe Crede rumor back on October 28th, and then watched it blossom into something widespread.  Now I think it’s time to pronounce this one dead.

As you probably know by now, Johnny Damon met for breakfast Wednesday with new Yankees manager Joe Girardi.  Girardi gave Damon the impression that he’d "definitely be back," and Brian Cashman spoke highly of Damon.  Cashman did admit that he wouldn’t rule anything out.  Ken Davidoff mentioned that the Yankees would actually prefer to trade Hideki Matsui.

What’s more, SI.com’s Jon Heyman revealed yesterday that the White Sox are one of the teams covered by Damon’s partial no-trade clause.  While the White Sox may like the idea of swapping Crede for Damon, the Yankees don’t feel the same way.  That’s not to say they still couldn’t acquire Crede using some other player.  Or even sign him outright – Buster Olney speculates that the Sox might have to non-tender Crede.