The Johnny Damon saga finally came to an end today when the free agent outfielder agreed to terms on a one-year contract, the Detroit Free Press reports. According to a report from Yahoo’s Tim Brown, the deal will pay Damon $8 MM in 2010. Later, SI.com’s Jon Heyman reported a no-trade clause was included in the deal as well.
Damon is expected to take his physical sooner rather than later, and if all goes well, he could be in camp with the Tigers as early as Monday.
I don’t want to get too far ahead of this story before we know all the particulars, but the biggest question that will soon be facing the Tigers is what to do with the roster. The team is already at a full 40 players, and having to DFA a player on the first day of camp is certainly not an ideal situation. In the more general scope of things, this move likely means the end of any hope Clete Thomas had of starting the year in Detroit. In the short-term though, Thomas’ roster spot is not in doubt.
My guess is the Tigers will cut ties with utility man Don Kelly and hope he slides through waivers as Jeff Larish did earlier in the offseason.
Stay tuned to MCB and we wil keep you updated as more details become available. And in case any of you were wondering, my wife is not okay with this move. Once I explained that Ryan Raburn wouldn’t be seeing much time this year, she was not a fan of this signing. Maybe Raburn can go back to the infield, there’s likely to be some at bats available there.
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How stupid was the ownership to sign an outfielder with a noodle arm and 7.5 yrs older than Granderson? His wife hates Detroit, it’s beneath her to be in Michigan.
They over-paid for him, but that seems to be a constant in the regime of DD. The good thing is that it’s only for one year, so if he doesn’t produce, they don’t have to pay the extortion of a 2nd year to get rid of him. I sincerely hope Damon delivers an infusion of hits, which this offensively starved team desperately needs. It’s just too bad the infielders will need to go 50 feet further out to catch his relay throws.
Damon isn’t that bad of an outfielder, in total. The noodle arm is the only thing about his defense that isn’t a plus. He can cover ground, and he starts moving in the right direction quickly. Maggs can’t do the first, and Raburn can’t do the second. Also, please don’t forget that an .850 OPS isn’t a guarantee from Raburn by any means. If Raburn put up a .770, hitting from the right side, without major improvements on defense he would be a significant negative for the team as a starting corner outfielder. He is a second baseman, and at the very least a valuable insurance policy for Sizemore. I would not be surprised if he winds up getting traded before the season, though. Maybe that will be the roster move, not cutting Kelly.
He’s a good chemistry guy and still has a solid bat, but don’t be fooled: he can’t play the field to save his life. Also, I’m not sure if he’ll be able to put up great numbers outside of Yankee Stadium. Plus, his whole song and dance about “wanting to play in Detroit after Boston” is BS. After this year he’ll bolt town for the highest bidder. He’s a greedy bastard and his agent is a snake.
/bitter Yankees fan’d
The Tigers don’t need him to hit 20 home runs, or to stick around for more than a year. They just need him to get on base, and not earn 13 million a year to not play baseball like so many Tigers have lately.
You’ve got your man then. If there’s one thing he CAN do, it’s get on base. Alls I’m saying is don’t fall in love with him because he will bolt town for a higher payday and break your heart. He did it to Boston and to NY.
If he leaves after one year then there’s no heartbreak involved. It takes longer than that to cultivate a bonding between a player and a team, especially for a player who has a reputation for bolting for a higher paycheck when the opportunity arises. We know he’s just a hired gun and that’s alright with the majority of us. Damon is at the end of his career and multi-year deals are of the thing of the past for him. Both him and Boras will have to wrap their collective brains around that.