The Yankees' interest in Andruw Jones is well-known, but now the Rays can be added to the list of suitors for the veteran outfielder, reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. (Twitter link) Tampa Bay has less of a pressing need for Jones since the club already has B.J. Upton and Desmond Jennings as right-handed hitting incumbents in the outfield, but with Upton coming off a weak 2010 season and Jennings entering his first full season in the bigs, Jones provides valuable depth should either player falter. He could also provide some pop as a right-handed DH option.
Heyman also mentions Johnny Damon as "a possibility" for both of the AL East rivals. Damon has expressed his own interest in playing for both clubs, and has been described as a fallback option for New York if they fail to acquire Jones. Damon would likely play more DH than outfield in Tampa Bay, since his declining defensive value wouldn't be aided by playing on Tropicana Field's artificial surface.
Can anything go right? We are going after Jones and Damon because they can at least play defense somewhat so they can keep Jennings in AAA. Come on Rays, sign Manny or Vlad and let Jennings start the season in the majors.
I wouldn’t count on Manny or Vlad. Probably Damon or Thome. I could MAYBE see Manny though, only if his price is low. I can’t see why it isn’t after the struggles he had last season.
They may go after Vlad above the other because he’s younger and will probably actually come cheaper than what the other two are asking. They also have Sam Fuld that they acquired from the Cubs as an outfield option which helps with platooning him, Joyce, Jennings, and Zobrist to help ease Jennings into the mix and not just throw him into trying to fill Crawford’s shoes
Difference is Jones or Damon can play OF AND DH where as Manny and Vlad are strictly DH’s at this point. The Rays are all about versatility, especially with the way Maddon manages.
Difference is Jones or Damon can play OF AND DH where as Manny and Vlad are strictly DH’s at this point. The Rays are all about versatility, especially with the way Maddon manages.
So far, just about everything has gone right for the Rays this off-season. They have deepened the system’s talent base, acquired useful players to fill the holes left by departing players, made room for major league ready players and saved enough money to acquire more useful talent.
“Rays, Yanks Both In On Andruw Jones, Johnny Damon”
Hmmm… I wonder which team will outbid the other.
Yankees will probably just sign them both to screw the Rays..lol
Really MLBTR? you really have to post this? Gee…who is the agent for Damon/Jones…is it Boras? Could Heyman possibly be trying to help out is bf again? This guy is so pathetic. Every single post like this should have the added words of “take this with a grain of salt”, added to them.
Agreed. Heyman is a tiresome Boras shill. If I had a nickel for every time Heyman spread a rumor that the Yankees were “interested” in a Boras client, I could hire Damon to be my butler.
if you tried to hire damon as your butler he’d probably turn your 2 year offer down for less money per year on a 1 year deal in a worse house for his talents haha. Check out the new MLBTR post on the AL East where the Yankees are still trying on Soriano. What a joke.
if you tried to hire damon as your butler he’d probably turn your 2 year offer down for less money per year on a 1 year deal in a worse house for his talents haha. Check out the new MLBTR post on the AL East where the Yankees are still trying on Soriano. What a joke.
Agreed. Heyman is a tiresome Boras shill. If I had a nickel for every time Heyman spread a rumor that the Yankees were “interested” in a Boras client, I could hire Damon to be my butler.
Whoever sarcasticly said “gee I wonder who will outbid the other” well I am glad about that. I don’t want either of these guys, I want the OF to be Jennings – Upton – Joyce and I want Manny for DH. If we sign Damon or Jones, we are going to try them in LF and they just aren’t good there anymore and in Tampa, with turf, they would be even worse.
Manny MAY be out of the price range. Maybe Rays fans should show up to games. I don’t want to hear the crap about the stadium. Show up and your team will have money to spend. They had a 90+ win season 2 of the last 3 seasons but they get NO support. It’s pathetic. If they did, Crawford would have most likely been there still and maybe even Soriano. MAYBE they wouldn’t have had to rebuild the entire bullpen. Sad…
This is Heyman creating leverage for his buttbuddy Boras again. Man is that guy pathetic, selling himself out for a few more followers on Twitter.
This is Heyman creating leverage for his buttbuddy Boras again. Man is that guy pathetic, selling himself out for a few more followers on Twitter.
damon and Thome sound like decent replacements.
Nobody’s talking about Manny. He is the sleeper of the players left. I still think he could be a force in the line-up for some team. He’s a HOF hitter who is a big gamble!
Nobody’s talking about Manny. He is the sleeper of the players left. I still think he could be a force in the line-up for some team. He’s a HOF hitter who is a big gamble!
The only 3 names that should be considered. Damon, Thome, & Vlad. Thats is. Manny’s too big of a question mark. Does AJ have any pop left in his bat.
Career OPS
Thome – .963
Damon – .783
Ramirez – .998
Vlad – .946
Jones – .826
Reason Jones fell off the map is because he ignored any kind of conditioning and bloated up to about 260 pds. If he would have taken care of himself he’d probably have about 500 HR right now. Sandoval probably takes better care of himself than Jones did. He still has some gas in the tank and if he can take care of himself he’d definitely have some value as a 4th outfielder and DH which is what the Rays need. Depends on how much money his agent has him overvalued @
Why do people still consider Damon an OF. I guess he can get to balls and catch them ok, but goodness gracious the guy can’t reach the infield dirt. To say he has a rag arm is an understatement.
yeah but damon is the best jump hitter or all time , possible the only jump hitter