Johnny Damon Rumors: Monday
There is now only a "very small" difference of opinion between the Tigers and Johnny Damon on salary, a major league source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Though the sides have exchanged proposals, a deal is not yet imminent.
A one-year, $7MM remains possible; as does a two-year, $14MM pact. However, the source downplayed the chances of a one-year deal with a player option for 2011.
A different source tells Morosi that the Braves have not ratcheted up their chase of the 36-year-old in the last week, leaving the White Sox as the strongest known challenger to the Tigers.
Johnny Damon Rumors: Saturday
Pitchers and catchers report next week, but Johnny Damon still doesn't have a home for the 2010 season. ESPN's Buster Olney hears that "at least one team which might have extended an offer has no expectation that [Damon] would actually take a two-year offer; rather, part of the negotiation with that team is that he would take only that one year."
Olney says that executives involved in the negotiations expect Damon to eventually accept a one-year deal worth $7MM with some deferred money, so his people can say he turned down a two-year deal. Meanwhile, Drew Sharp of The Detroit Free Press wonders if Scott Boras is just using the Tigers to create a market for Damon when one doesn't exist.
If Damon has in fact received a two-year offer worth $14MM from the Tigers, I can't see how he could turn that down at this point.
Odds & Ends: Upton, Jackson, Tigers, Lopez
Friday night linkage..
- B.J. Upton and the Rays had their arbitration hearing today and the decision from that hearing is expected tomorrow, writes Bill Chastain of MLB.com. Tampa Bay is offering $3MM while Upton wants $3.3MM.
- Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets that there is still no movement in talks between the D-Backs and Edwin Jackson. Jackson is seeking $6.25MM while Arizona is offering $4.6MM.
- If the Tigers ink Johnny Damon, the club may look make a trade to free up their glut in the outfield, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. Ryan Raburn and Clete Thomas could be shipped elsewhere in order to make room for Damon in the lineup. Schmehl also writes that GM Dave Dombrowski may try to move Nate Robertson and Carlos Guillen, though their hefty contracts will be an impediment.
- Phil Wood of MASNSports.com fails to understand the Nats' interest in pitcher Kris Benson. The 35-year-old has not pitched a full season since 2006, when he posted a 4.82 ERA with 4.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for the Orioles.
- Australian catcher Guy Edmonds has signed with the Texas Rangers, according to Christian Nicolussi of The Daily Telegraph. Nicolussi writes that the 16-year-old has the potential to outperform the country's greatest baseball export, Dave Nilsson.
- ESPN's Rob Neyer defends Tim Lincecum's signing of a two-year deal with the Giants. Tiny Tim was seeking $13MM in arbitration with the club.
- Rangers pitchers Omar Beltre and Alexi Ogando – banned for the past five years due to their involvement in a visa fraud scandal – have received their visas and are expected in Spring Training, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. In total, the Rangers are expecting 56 players in camp.
- On his website, MetsBlog.com founder Matthew Cerrone was asked by a reader if reporters in the mainstream media "make up" hot stove rumors. While he says that this is not the case, the seriousness of talks between clubs are, at times, not communicated effectively. Because of the strange nature of the baseball rumor mill, Cerrone says that he and Tim Dierkes provide an important service to fans by adding context to hot stove rumblings.
Johnny Damon Rumors: Friday
5:35pm: While the activity on Damon has heated up in the past week, it doesn't appear as though he will sign with a team until next week, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
2:12pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com says via Twitter that it looks like the Damon sweepstakes will come down to the White Sox and Tigers. He says the Braves don't appear to have the money to bid.
2:00pm: Don't hold your breath for a Damon signing. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that nothing is imminent with the Tigers.
9:44am: The White Sox "threw [a] bone" at Johnny Damon, but weren't seriously involved, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). That matches up with yesterday's reports from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times and MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
Rosenthal and others reported yesterday that the Tigers are prepared to offer Damon $14MM over two years. That makes them the favorite to acquire the outfielder, though we haven't completely ruled out the Braves.
Heyman On Damon, Braves, Wang, Dye
Jon Heyman of SI.com explains that expectations for Johnny Damon were unrealistically high at the beginning of the offseason. Here's Heyman's latest on Damon and others:
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland is said to want Damon badly.
- Heyman hears that the Braves might have $6MM to spend.
- Chien-Ming Wang's agent says his client is still a week or so away from deciding where he'll sign. Competitors still expect the righty to sign an incentive-laden deal with the Nationals.
- We've heard that the Indians are considering Jermaine Dye; Heyman says he could play some first base in Cleveland.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braves, Scutaro, Carroll
On this date eight years ago, Major League Baseball acquired the Montreal Expos from owner Jeffrey Loria for $120MM, who then purchased the Marlins for $158MM. Loria took everything not nailed down in Montreal with him to Florida, including manager Jeff Torborg. MLB ran the Expos for the next four-plus years until ownership was transferred to Ted Lerner in July 2006.
Here's a look at what's being written around the web…
- Capitol Avenue Club analyzes the players the Braves are bringing to Spring Training as non-roster invitees.
- The Bottom Line wonders if Marco Scutaro is going to be the next Julio Lugo.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness thinks the Dodgers jumped the gun when they signed Jamey Carroll.
- Mets Merized looks at the best of what's left on the free agent market.
- Camden Crazies tries to make sense of the Orioles' interest in Jarrod Washburn.
- U.S.S. Mariner breaks down the incentives in Erik Bedard's contract.
- TAUNTR touched on the Tigers' reported offer to Johnny Damon.
- Fantasy Rundown links to every prospect ranking you can think of.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Johnny Damon Rumors: Thursday
9:29pm: MLB.com's Scott Merkin concurs, adding that he believes the White Sox have about $4MM to offer Damon.
5:50pm: According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago's interest in Johnny Damon is more about "due diligence" than anything else, and if the price tag is around $7MM per season, that is beyond their budget.
4:48pm: Heyman tweets that the Tigers may have offered slightly more than $14MM.
4:21pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that executives expect Damon to sign with the Tigers.
4:15pm: Braves president John Schuerholz tells Jim Bowden that GM Frank Wren is "engaged" in talks with Damon and Scott Boras (Twitter link).
3:56pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Tigers have one and two-year offers on the table to Damon. The Braves and White Sox are also involved.
3:05pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and Jim Bowden tweet that the White Sox and Tigers are bidding on Damon.
2:48pm: Tigers owner Mike Ilitch has authorized a two-year $14MM offer, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It's hard to imagine Damon turning this kind of offer down.
Damon is also considering a one-year $7MM offer from the Tigers and a one-year offer from the Braves. Atlanta won't likely offer two years, since they have outfield prospects Jason Heyward and Jordan Schafer.
2:02pm: Damon is nearing a decision and could agree to a deal this week, reports ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Damon's best available offer comes from the Tigers. Insiders guess they're offering a one-year deal worth $7MM or so, but the sides haven't ruled out a two-year deal.
The Braves and Rays are still involved and a source tells Stark that the White Sox have interest. The Braves and Rays are talking one-year deals and neither club has offered as much as the Tigers.
1:21pm: The Tigers appear willing to top the Braves' offer to Johnny Damon, tweets Newsday's Ken Davidoff. Davidoff suggests that the Tigers could offer Damon $4.5MM, which would top Atlanta's offer of about $4MM.
Yesterday, we heard that the Braves offered Damon a deal worth less than $4MM. The deal includes deferred money, according to multiple reports. Earlier in the week, FOX Sports reported that Damon was still looking for a multi-year deal.
Johnny Damon Rumors: Wednesday
6:42pm: MLB.com's Mark Bowman hears from a source that even with deferred money, the Braves offer to Damon totals less than $4MM (link goes to Twitter).
4:04pm: Tyler Kepner of the New York Times tweets that he's hearing the Braves' offer to Damon is $2MM now plus another $2MM deferred.
11:22am: Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported that Johnny Damon had not moved off his demand for a two-year deal. They suggested the Tigers were the most interested club, a notion SI's Jon Heyman agreed with this morning. Rosenthal and Morosi wrote that the Braves were taking a more passive approach than the Tigers.
However, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today that the Braves' interest in Damon has increased, to the point of making an offer in the $5MM range. MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports that the offer includes some deferred money. O'Brien says the Braves recently made a one-year offer and had Chipper Jones contact Damon. Additionally, Damon texted O'Brien and described the Braves as "definitely a team that is on top of the list."
Odds & Ends: Theriot, Delgado, Damon, Yankees
Links for Tuesday…
- 2011 free agent Brandon Webb threw for the first time since his August shoulder surgery today and told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he feels good.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says (via Twitter) that he's not under the impression that the Reds are in on Johnny Damon.
- The Cubs haven't spoken with Ryan Theriot's representatives recently and expect to go to an arbitration hearing with the infielder, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Jim Reeves of ESPNDallas.com explains how Rangers GM Jon Daniels now reports to Nolan Ryan. Within the piece, Daniels says the Rangers obtained virtually every player they targeted this offseason.
- Carlos Delgado's agent tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that his client's conditioning is progressing well (Twitter link).
- Morosi tweets that the Brewers signed Chase Wright to a minor league deal.
- Corey Hart's arbitration hearing is scheduled for Thursday, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. If the hearing does occur, Hart will either be paid $4.8MM or $4.15MM in 2010. It'll be Doug Melvin's first hearing as Brewers GM.
- Johnny Damon is a big fan of Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings, agent Scott Boras told John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press. Boras says Damon received "four or five offers right away" after it became clear the Yankees wouldn't re-sign him.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman explained to George King of the New York Post that he groups Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Joe Girardi together in terms of not negotiating extensions.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford explains why Josh Beckett's shoulder will be a critical factor in whether the Red Sox re-sign the righty.
- Comparing 2008 to 2009, FanGraphs' Matthew Carruth lists the pitchers with the biggest gains and losses on their fastballs.
- The Brewers agreed to sign Dominican righties Eduard Reyes, Carlos Sosa, and Elvis Mora, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- McCalvy points us to this entertaining interview the blog Right Field Bleachers did with Marlins reliever Seth McClung.
- The blog Monozygotic compiled a list of non-roster Spring Training invitees for all 30 teams.
Johnny Damon Rumors: Saturday
7:03pm: Damon said on Friday that Tampa Bay remains a possible destination, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. However, Topkin characterizes this as a "long shot", as Damon is likely to sign with Detroit.
11:47am: Pitchers are catchers are less than two weeks away, however Johnny Damon is still looking for a job and there doesn't appear to be many teams willing to bring him on board. FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi says the Braves and Tigers are definitely among the clubs interested in Damon, though Atlanta has taken a more passive approach. They'd be happy to take him if he "fell into their lap" according to the Fox scribe, which translates to "if his price comes way down."
Meanwhile, Lynn Henning of The Detroit News says the Tigers need to add a hitter after the Twins added Orlando Hudson, but he cautions that Damon isn't "a perfect answer or player." This certainly isn't the first time we've seen these two teams connected to the former Yankee left fielder.
Bobby Abreu didn't sign until February 12th last year, so Damon still has some time before meeting his former teammate's mark.