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Johnny Damon

Discussion: Where Will Johnny Damon Land?

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We've flipped the calendar to 2010 and Johnny Damon is one of baseball's most intriguing names that remains unsigned. Chuck Brownson at The Hardball Times pens an article today that asks why teams seem wary of signing the veteran outfielder. Brownson acknowledges Damon's oft-repeated shortcomings, including his below average arm and his questionable defense (-12.1 UZR/150 last season), but points out that the 36-year-old is still a dangerous offensive player and seems destined to be a bargain this winter.

The New York Yankees seemed like the logical fit for Damon heading into the offseason. After all, Damon was a significant part of the team's World Series run in 2009, and their park's short right field porch helped him match his career high in homers (24). The Yankees' search for a left fielder has them considering more affordable options than Damon though, and they've shown a reluctance so far this winter to deal out multi-year contracts (Damon is seeking at least two years).

So what are Damon's alternatives? The Rangers are looking to add a bat or two, but Damon may be a little too expensive for their liking. The Cardinals have the money and the outfield opening, though if they sign Matt Holliday they'll no longer be in the market for a left fielder. The Giants could sign another hitter and the Braves still have some leftover money from the Javier Vazquez trade, but would either National League team be comfortable paying Damon a sizable chunk of money to play in the outfield every day for the next two years? An American League team that could occasionally DH the 36-year-old might make more sense.

With Jason Bay having signed and Holliday potentially not far behind, the market for Damon could improve in the coming weeks. For now, it doesn't seem that many teams are interested, given his asking price. Where do you see Damon playing in 2010?

Discussion: Johnny Damon and Jason Bay

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While its difficult to criticize negotations from the outside, two major free agents appear to have negotiated their way out of ideal situations this year.

In 2009, Johnny Damon closed out his four-year, $52MM contract in style, hitting .282/.365/.489 with 24 HRs.  This offseason it was clear that Damon wanted to re-up with the Yankees, but of course, at the right price.  Early in the offseason, reports suggested that Boras was seeking a three-year contract at roughly the same rate ($13MM/year) as his last deal. 

After the Bombers signed Nick Johnson to take his place, word got out that Damon would have settled for $20MM over two years.  While the Yanks' proposal of $14MM still wasn't quite close enough, it is possible that the two sides could have reached an accord.  The Giants could be a suitor, as they were in on the Johnson chase, but it's doubtful that they would want to put him in the outfield.

Meanwhile, after rejecting a four-year, $60MM offer from Boston in July, Jason Bay appears to be having some trouble finding a new home. 

The signing of Mike Cameron likely means that the Red Sox will be moving on, leaving the Mets as the top suitor.  While some suggest that Omar Minaya & Co. will be willing to fork over the five-year pact that agent Joe Urbon has been asking for, it has been said that he does not want to play in Queens.

Regardless of what kind of contract each player fetches, it is difficult to imagine either player getting the money they wanted from their respective teams.

Discussion: Pat Burrell

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Pat Burrell's move to the American League did not go as smoothly as he or the Rays hoped.  Burrell left the World Series-winning Phillies to sign a two-year, $16MM free agent contract with Tampa Bay last January, and then suffered through a season's worth of injuries and inconsistency to finish with a career-worst .682 OPS (.221/.315/.367) in 476 plate appearances.

With $9MM due to Burrell in 2010, the Rays have been openly shopping the slugger this winter.  Rumors of a deal of Burrell-for-Milton Bradley swirled for months before the Cubs dealt Bradley to Seattle last week.  With seemingly their best trade option gone, it appears as if Tampa Bay will go into next season with Burrell back in the DH spot — which, if 2009 was just an aberration, might not be a bad option given Burrell's 251 homers and .852 OPS over his first nine years in Philadelphia.

If the Rays still want to move Burrell and save some cash, however, here are a few of the clubs that are in need of a DH/LF type and might have the payroll flexibility to absorb some or all of Burrell's contract.

  • The Mets.  Should they give up on signing Jason Bay (or lose him to the Red Sox), New York would still have a hole to fill in left field.  The downside of Burrell going to a National League team, however, is his glove.  He played just two games in the outfield last season, and according to Fangraphs, his defense ranged from mediocre to terrible (a -25.2 UZR/150 in 2007) over his last four years in Philadelphia.
  • The Cardinals.  Just as Burrell is a backup plan for the Mets if they don't sign Bay, he can also be a backup plan for St. Louis if they don't sign Matt Holliday.
  • The Braves.  Atlanta's biggest offseason need was a right-handed power hitter.  While they are close to a deal with Troy Glaus, Glaus made just 32 plate appearances in 2009 after undergoing shoulder surgery last January.  Burrell is perhaps a more reliable option, and may regain his batting stroke back in the NL East.  
  • The White Sox.  Ozzie Guillen likes the idea of a rotating designated hitter, but GM Kenny Williams didn't close the door on the possibility of picking up an everyday DH if the right opportunity presented itself.
  • The Giants.  Mark DeRosa may be coming in as San Francisco's new left fielder, but Burrell could be an interesting alternative should DeRosa not accept the Giants' offer.  Or, the power-starved Giants could acquire Burrell to play in left, and then sign DeRosa to play third base, thus moving Pablo Sandoval over to first.  (Or, Sandoval plays 1B, DeRosa plays 2B and Freddy Sanchez moves over to 3B.)  If the Rays pay some of Burrell's contract, then he is a much cheaper option for San Francisco than Johnny Damon.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matsui, Mariners, Callapso

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On Christmas Day way back in 2001, Hideki Matsui became the highest paid player in Japanese baseball history, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $4.7MM with the Yomiuri Giants. In his seven-year (and counting) Major League Baseball career, Matsui has never earned less than $6MM annually.

Let's see what's being written around the blogosphere…

  • River Ave. Blues takes a look at the economic impact of Matsui leaving the World Champs for the Angels.
  • U.S.S. Mariner runs down some potential first base options for the Mariners, covering players available through trades, free agency, and those already in-house.
  • It's About The Money, Stupid! compares Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson to the two guys they're replacing, Johnny Damon and Matsui.
  • South Side Sox provides some thoughts on Kenny Williams' busy offseason.
  • Royals Authority says Kansas City needs an outfielder, and proposes a few deals centered around Alberto Callaspo.
  • Viva El Birdos has some concerns about signing Matt Holliday to a long-term contract.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Yankees Notes: Vazquez, Granderson, Reed Johnson

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Bryan Hoch of MLB.com provides an interesting bit of trivia in his latest article: Javier Vazquez became the first player the Yankees traded for twice since Jeff Nelson. Here are Hoch's other Yankees-related updates, via GM Brian Cashman:

  • Vazquez's second half in 2004, when he posted a 6.92 ERA after the All-Star break for the Yankees, was viewed as an aberration, rather than any sort of concern.
  • Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, among others, will compete for the fifth rotation spot. The loser(s) of that competition will end up either in the bullpen or Triple-A to start the year.
  • The Yankees' budget was "once in a lifetime" last winter, so a surprise mega-deal like the Mark Teixeira signing a year ago is unlikely. Cashman's quote: "Any speculation about some high-end player who has big ability and dollars attached on a large scale would be inappropriate."
  • Hoch speculates that, while Johnny Damon is probably too expensive, Mark DeRosa and Jermaine Dye could still be left field possibilities. Last we heard on DeRosa, he was leaning toward accepting an offer from San Francisco.
  • Despite Curtis Granderson hitting 30 homers in 2009 and shifting to a smaller park, Cashman doesn't expect the center fielder to hit more than 20-30 long balls in 2010, pointing out that power is just one of Granderson's many strengths.

One more piece of Yankees news courtesy of Joel Sherman of the New York Post: Sherman hears that the Yankees are having regular discussions with Reed Johnson's representation. It's hard to imagine Johnson being the missing final piece for the Yanks' outfield, after all the names we've seen pop up, but he would fit in well with the team's current group of primarily left-handed bats. The 33-year-old has hit .313/.378/.463 in his career against lefties.

Odds & Ends: Gomes, Duchscherer, Chapman

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Some links for your Tuesday…

Outfield Options For The Braves

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The Braves have Nate McLouth, Melky Cabrera, Jordan Schafer, Jason Heyward and Matt Diaz under team control next year, but they could still go after an outfielder.

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says the Braves saved about $9MM by dealing Javier Vazquez. Jason Bay is too pricey for them, but Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady could be fits. As an alternative to free agency, Stark suggests the Braves could deal an outfielder for a bat (he mentions Dan Uggla as a possible trade target).

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Braves and Yankees both say Bay and Matt Holliday are too expensive. Both teams are interested in Mark DeRosa, and Rosenthal says we shouldn't rule out Marlon Byrd for either club. The Braves would prefer to sign a right-handed hitter like DeRosa or Byrd, but could still bring back lefty-hitting first baseman Adam LaRoche.

Jason Bay Rumors: Tuesday

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9:45am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says (via Twitter) that Bay, Johnny Damon and Matt Holliday remain too expensive for the Yankees.

8:49am: There were indications that Jason Bay and his representatives were active yesterday, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Mets, who are bidding against themselves at the moment, are hesitant to expand their four year offer unless they know which other teams are interested.

The Red Sox never budged from a four-year offer because of concerns about Bay's shoulder and knee, Silverman says. They're not frontrunners to re-sign the left fielder now, but it's too early to rule the Red Sox and Yankees out completely.

Yesterday, we heard that the Mets' offer to Bengie Molina may hinge on their negotiations with Bay, so Bay's decision will influence more than just the outfield market.

Odds & Ends: Fehr, Indians, Swisher

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Sunday night links…

  • Former MLBPA head Donald Fehr talked to Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal.  Amongst other things, Fehr says that with the current agreement expiring in 2011, he hopes the owners remember the brutal work stoppage of 1994.
  • Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter) says that we can expect to find out what Rays player will be shipped to the Indians as part of the Kelly Shoppach deal.  The Cleveland press release announcing the trade a few weeks ago had said that the "player to be named later" would be revealed today, December 20th.
  • While some Yankees fans have talked about the possibility of trading Nick Swisher, Chad Jennings of The Journal News defends the eccentric outfielder, citing his 29 HRs and .371 OBP.  Dealing Swisher probably made sense when the club still might have re-signed Johnny Damon.  At this point, unless the Yanks plan on signing Matt Holliday, can anyone think of a good reason why they should move Swisher?

Odds & Ends: Gonzalez, Bradley, Hamels

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Let's have a look at some miscellaneous Sunday links….

  • The Tigers purchased the contract of catcher Andy Bouchie from the Long Beach Armada. Bouchie, 24, was a seventh round pick by the Brewers after his junior season at Oral Roberts University, but was released due to catching depth in the Milwaukee system. He hit .290 with 7 home runs and 45 RBI in 59 games in the Golden Baseball League this year.
  • Jon Paul Morosi explains why the Padres should wait until July 31 to trade Adrian Gonzalez.
  • Larry Stone offers some optimism for Seattle fans with concerns about newly-acquired Milton Bradley in a nice article, reminding us that Bradley has had non-problematic stops over the course of his career. Stone quotes Eddie Guardado, Bud Black, and Ken Macha, all of whom support Bradley.
  • Scott Lauber writes that amidst the Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee pandemonium, it's easy to forget about Cole Hamels, but the Phillies haven't. They still see Hamels as a top-of-the-rotation arm and are confident in his ability to rebound from a forgettable 2009.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes that Oakland's potential deal with Coco Crisp reflects the value the A's place on defense.
  • In his usual lengthy Sunday column, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo focuses primarily on the Red Sox' moves, past, present, and future. He provides at least one interesting hot stove note though: Mark DeRosa's asking price has come down, and Cafardo wonders if the Mets could sign the infielder and play him at first base.
  • Cafardo also mentions that, while plenty of teams are interested in Chien-Ming Wang, the Yankees hope to match any final offer the right-hander receives.
  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff can't see any other teams taking a chance on Mike Lowell unless he exhibits good health in Spring Training.
  • In a separate article, Davidoff examines the next move for Johnny Damon. Davidoff lists the Braves, Rays, Cubs, and Mets as possible destinations, but concedes there are roadblocks in each case.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at the remaining names on the closing market, concluding that there are too many arms and not enough teams in need of a closer.
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says there's nothing wrong with any of the Orioles' recent signings, but that they aren't the big splashes fans may have hoped to see.
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