Tigers, Damon exchange contract proposals
Posted by Anthony Stalter (02/16/2010 @ 8:30 am)
According to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.com, the Tigers and free agent Johnny Damon have traded contract proposals, but no deal is imminent as of now.
A one-year, $7 million deal is possible, as is a two-year contract worth $14 million. But the source downplayed the chances of a one-year deal with a player option for 2011 — similar to the contract that Adrian Beltre, another Scott Boras client, signed with the Red Sox.
Some people in the industry have wondered why the Tigers offered Damon a two-year contract last week, at a time when it’s questionable that any other team is interested in signing the 36-year-old to a deal of that length.
Similarly, many believe it would be foolish for Damon to turn down a two-year deal, because it could be difficult for him to replicate his Yankee Stadium success of 2009 while playing in Detroit’s more spacious Comerica Park.
I don’t think Damon will produce the same numbers this year as he did last season while playing in Yankee Stadium. And considering he’s 36 and a liability in the outfield, a one-year deal makes the most sense. I understand Damon wants a longer commitment, but the Tigers (and any team for that matter) shouldn’t oblige.
If Detroit could sign him to a one-year deal with a team option for the second year, then maybe the two sides can come to an agreement. Either way, it looks like Damon is getting closer to finally finding a home in 2010.
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Bidding war for Damon starting to emerge?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (02/10/2010 @ 4:01 pm)
Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that the Braves have offered Johnny Damon a one-year contract, while a source also tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.com that the Tigers could use an infielder, but are devoted to pursuing Damon.
Bowman notes that the one-year deal that the Braves offered Damon includes deferred money, so if the Tigers offer more guaranteed loot or add another year onto the deal, the former Yankee could wind up in Detroit. Scott Boras has been clamoring for about a week that Damon loves the Red Wings and may wind up in Motown, but the deciding factor will ultimately be which team offers the most money and years.
Damon batted .282 with 24 home runs and scored 107 runs last season, so his offense would be welcome in Atlanta. But if he winds up in the National League, the Braves will have nowhere to hide the disaster Damon calls a left arm. If he goes to Detroit, at least the Tigers could use him as a DH, as well as in an outfield rotation. (Although the mere thought of having Damon and Magglio Ordonez in the same outfield should make most Tiger fans dizzy.)
Boras has been craving this kind of bidding action for Damon and he may have finally got it with these two clubs. Whoever winds up signing him better hope the 36-year-old slap hitter can produce outside of Yankee Stadium. He hit 24 home runs last year, but the new Yankee Stadium is a wind tunnel and he’s liable to hit closer to his career average (13 dingers) away from the park next season.
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Report: Damon rejected $6 mil from Yankees
Posted by Anthony Stalter (01/29/2010 @ 1:00 pm)
According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Yankees offered free agent outfielder Johnny Damon a $6 million contract last week and he turned them down.
In a last-ditch effort late last week after Damon himself called the team, Cashman, one of baseball’s best dealmakers, tried floating a contract of $6 million with $3 million deferred at no interest (with the promise it would be cleared with team boss Hal Steinbrenner, who was about to return from his honeymoon). But Damon wasn’t moved enough to respond.
“I know what kind of player I am. I know I’m a player who makes a difference and won’t back down,” Damon told SI.com by phone on Thursday.
Damon is said to have a few possibilities. Teams reported to have shown some interest include the A’s, Rays, Tigers, Reds, Braves and Blue Jays. Damon doesn’t sound worried at all.
“I’m all right being a free agent at this point. I get to see how teams are shaping up,” Damon said. “I know what I can do. And I think the rest of the world knows what I can do.’
This is turning out to be one of the greatest mysteries of the MLB offseason and I’m not referring to how Damon still hasn’t signed with anyone. It’s a mystery that this clown thinks he’s worth double-digits because he hit 24 home runs last year in the wind tunnel that is Yankee Stadium.
Damon and his agent Scott Boras have reportedly been seeking $10 million a year from the Yankees, but Brian Cashman was only willing to do $2 million a year. It’s a little surprising that Cashman bumped that number up to $6 million and Damon rejected.
Any National League team that is willing to give Damon $10 million a year is out of their minds. He has the throwing arm of a 3-year-old child and he’s a complete disaster judging balls in the outfield. Simply put, the only thing he can do well is hit and there’s no guarantee at his age (35) that he’ll continue to hit .282/24/82 away from Yankee Stadium.
If some team is willing to fork over $10 million for half a player, then they obviously have no idea what the terms “money management” and “value” are. The Yankees have played this situation right and if Damon doesn’t want to compromise on a $6 million deal from the World Series champs, then here’s hoping he has to settle for a low ball deal from a non-competitor. Because he and Boras are delusional about what he brings to the table in terms of talent.
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Yankees sign Winn, could signal the end of Damon’s time in New York
Posted by Anthony Stalter (01/27/2010 @ 8:10 pm)
The Yankees signed free agent outfielder Randy Winn, which more than likely signals the end of Johnny Damon’s time in New York. Joel Sherman reports that the deal for Winn is a one-year contract worth around $2 million.
Brian Cashman has maintained that he won’t go higher than $2 million for Damon, who still has pop in his bat but is the worst defensive outfielder in baseball. Winn was a disaster against left-handed pitching last year, but he’s an outstanding defender and will play a great right field in New York.
Damon and his agent Scott Boras are reportedly still seeking a contract in the double-digit range, but considering he’s a defensive liability, he probably won’t get much more than $5 million guaranteed. The A’s and Rays are possible landing spots, but he’ll have to come down on his demands.
Of course, if he comes down a bit on his demands, he might be able to return to New York.
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Does anybody want Johnny Damon?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (01/20/2010 @ 11:33 am)
Johnny Damon is reportedly considering retirement after badly miscalculating the MLB free-agent market reports the Bergen Record.
Remember back in November, when Damon refused to give the Bombers a hometown discount? Remember when he said that unless Brian Cashman was ready to pay $13 million a year, don’t bother making an offer? Damon should’ve been careful for what he wished.
No one has called, no one has that kind of money anymore and no one, least of all Damon and his agent Scott Boras, has any hope of this ending well.
With only a month to go until spring training, Damon has two options: He can call the Yankees and admit he has nowhere to go. The Yankees, who will listen politely, will tell Damon he can play for $2 million for one season, not a penny or a day more.
Option 2, practically unthinkable after the World Series, would be retirement. A friend of Damon’s recently said, “Johnny is completely in the family mode right now” and has considered that option. It’s still hard to believe that, in the wake of a 24-home run campaign in 2009, and hitting .364 against the Phillies in the Series, Damon actually would quit.
This is a classic example of an athlete overestimating his worth. Damon can still hit and he can also run a little, but he’s a brutal outfielder and therefore he’s only suited to be a DH. Teams don’t want to spend $13 million on an aging, one-dimensional player that may or may not hit outside of that wind tunnel the Yankees call a stadium.
Whether it was Boras or Damon himself, somebody in that camp made a huge mistake setting the price tag at $13 million and now he’ll have to take whatever he can get if he wants to play next season.
Damon to the Giants? You must be kidding me.
Posted by Anthony Stalter (12/18/2009 @ 1:20 pm)
There’s a horrifying rumor making its way around the web that Johnny Damon could be heading to San Francisco now that his time in New York appears to be finished.
Now, some people might be thinking, “Hey, Damon can hit and the Giants need hitters sooooooooooooooo…it’s a perfect fit!”
But no. I mean seriously: No. (No.)
Johnny Damon and his chicken wing would be a horrible fit in San Francisco and if Giants GM Brian Sabean goes for this then he should be forced to give tours on Alcatraz for the rest of his life.
Sabean is notorious for overspending on the wrong players. Outside of a respectable 2009 campaign, Barry Zito and his mega-million dollar contract has been nothing short of a disaster. Aaron Rowand has been a great defender and a solid clubhouse guy, but he can’t hit and therefore, can’t live up to his contract either. Sabean is also the genius that overpaid for Edgar Renteria (yet another player that has no concept of a decent batting average) last winter.
Yeah, Damon can hit. He also has the worst arm in baseball and fails to reach the cutoff man on a consistent basis. He would no doubt cost the Giants’ pitching staff runs based on his shoddy fielding and there’s no guarantee that he would even produce as a hitter in spacious AT&T Park.
Hopefully this rumor is just that: A rumor. Damon belongs in the American League as a DH. He’s half a player in the NL and a quarter of a player in a pitcher’s ballpark. Maybe the Red Sox could use him as a piñata or something, but keep him out of San Fran.
Johnny Damon’s days as a Yankee over?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/27/2009 @ 11:30 am)
Ken Davidoff from Newsday writes that Johnny Damon won’t settle (in terms of a contract) in free agency and that’s why Davidoff thinks the outfielder won’t be in pinstripes next season.
I spent some time with Johnny Damon today, and he spoke forcefully about his free agency and his future. I asked him specifically about Scott Boras’ comments from a couple of weeks ago, and Damon backed his agent 100 percent.
Damon’s history shows that he’s not going to bend in his free agency. It’s how he became a Yankee in the first place. It’s why I think he’ll be elsewhere, come next season.
Damon doesn’t want a pay cut, yet he made $13 million last year. I know the guy is durable and has pop, but he’s a liability in the outfield and is 36 years old. Who is going to give him $13 million again next year outside of the Yankees?
Davidoff knows the Yankees better than I do obviously, but it stands to reason that Damon isn’t going to get more than $10 million from any other team next year. That means he will be taking a pay cut or he will be back with the Bombers for close to what he made in ’09.
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