Headlines

  • Red Sox Promote Roman Anthony
  • Mariners Designate Leody Taveras For Assignment, Outright Casey Lawrence
  • Angels Acquire LaMonte Wade Jr.
  • Braves Designate Craig Kimbrel For Assignment
  • Corbin Burnes To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Braves Select Craig Kimbrel
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2025
    • Free Agent Contest Leaderboard
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Previewing The Hideki Matsui Market

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 24, 2009 at 10:54am CDT

Hideki Matsui has three multi-homer games in the last week and a half, so he's clearly got something left, even at 35. The Yankees have reportedly decided not to bring Matsui back, but his bat should make him appealing to other teams. With 23 homers and just eight more strikeouts than walks, Matsui has a .265/.365/.508 line for the season.

The problem is, he hasn't played an inning in the outfield this year and he played just 24 games in the field last season. He would like to play defense, but even when he has taken the field, Matsui has been a consistent liability, according to UZR. It's hard to imagine an NL team paying millions for Matsui, so let's consider some possible AL destinations. 

The Red Sox, Indians, Twins and Rays have DHs under contract for next year, so unless they get creative, Matsui won't fit. The Angels and White Sox will see their own DHs hit free agency after the season; The Royals have Billy Butler and Mike Jacobs under control next year and the A's may be reluctant to bring in an aging DH for a second straight year. The Rangers could have interest depending on what they do with Marlon Byrd, Hank Blalock and Julio Borbon; The Jays could have interest if they have enough money; and it wouldn't be fair to completely rule out the Mariners, Tigers or Orioles. 

Matsui hits free agency alongside Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Sheffield, so there could be more DHs than DH jobs this offseason. The league-wide emphasis on defense and youth doesn't help Matsui's value, either. It only takes a couple injuries or trades to change that dramatically, but at this point, the offseason market for Matsui doesn't look promising, in spite of his hot streak.

Share 1 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Yankees Hideki Matsui

Yankees Rumors: Damon, Pettitte, Matsui
Main
Heyman On Damon, Minaya, Wagner
View Comments (0)
Post a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Red Sox Promote Roman Anthony

    Mariners Designate Leody Taveras For Assignment, Outright Casey Lawrence

    Angels Acquire LaMonte Wade Jr.

    Braves Designate Craig Kimbrel For Assignment

    Corbin Burnes To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Braves Select Craig Kimbrel

    Jerry Reinsdorf, Justin Ishbia Reach Agreement For Ishbia To Obtain Future Majority Stake In White Sox

    White Sox To Promote Kyle Teel

    Sign Up For Trade Rumors Front Office Now And Lock In Savings!

    Pablo Lopez To Miss Multiple Months With Teres Major Strain

    MLB To Propose Automatic Ball-Strike Challenge System For 2026

    Giants Designate LaMonte Wade Jr., Sign Dominic Smith

    Reds Sign Wade Miley, Place Hunter Greene On Injured List

    Padres Interested In Jarren Duran

    Royals Promote Jac Caglianone

    Mariners Promote Cole Young, Activate Bryce Miller

    2025-26 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings: May Edition

    Evan Phillips To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    AJ Smith-Shawver Diagnosed With Torn UCL

    Reds Trade Alexis Díaz To Dodgers

    Recent

    Red Sox Promote Roman Anthony

    Mariners Designate Leody Taveras For Assignment, Outright Casey Lawrence

    Red Sox Designate Robert Stock For Assignment, Select Brian Van Belle

    Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

    Rich Hill Has June 15 Opt-Out In Royals Deal

    AJ Smith-Shawver Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

    Poll: What Will The Rangers Do At The Deadline?

    Mets Select Justin Garza

    Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast

    Latest On Dodgers’ Rotation

    ad: 300x250_5_side_mlb

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Nolan Arenado Rumors
    • Dylan Cease Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Marcus Stroman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2024-25 Offseason Outlook Series
    • 2025 Arbitration Projections
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version