Damon and Manny to Rays

Apparently the Rays are trying to corner the market on former Red Sox. 

According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Rays have come to terms with both Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez.  Damon's deal is reported to be for one year at $5.25M, plus $750K in attendance incentives.  I'm a little bit confused by the inclusion of an incentive clause.  While Damon was one of the game's most popular players for several years, I don't think anyone would consider him to be an attendance draw.  So far, I haven't seen any reports indicating the thresholds of said incentives, but I'm sure those are forthcoming.  Considering the mass exodus of star players from last year's division championship team (Crawford, Soriano, Garza, Pena, Bartlett, Balfour, etc.), I can envision a scenario where the Rays attendance might drop--especially if they come out of the gate slowly.  As far as I'm concerned, he has a slightly greater than a zero percent chance of cashing in on those incentives.  Still, as I mentioned earlier, the Damon to the Rays appears to be a wise choice by both parties.

Manny's deal will be a one year contract worth $2M guaranteed.  Yes, you read that right.  Manny's salary is dropping from $20M last season to $2M this season.  That's quite a change in fortune.  While it's not shocking that he took a drastic pay cut, it is a little surprising that the cut was so large.  Last season Manny produced 1.6 WAR between the Dodgers and White Sox in 320 plate appearances.  Johnny Damon, on the other hand, produced 1.9 WAR in nearly twice the number (613) of plate appearances.  All things considered, Manny was much more productive during his playing time than Damon. 

So why did Damon get three times as much (when factoring in the incentives) than Manny?  I can think of three possible reasons.  One, Manny was less than impressive during his 24 game stint with the White Sox when he hit only .261/.420/.319 in 88 plate appearances.  (Yes, it was a small sample size, but it's amazing how many people, including smart baseball people, ignore those kinds of facts.)  Two, while Damon can't be trusted to play the outfield regularly, he can still play in a pinch.  Manny, on the other hand, has the range of a paraplegic and the attention span of a teenager suffering from ADD.  Three, Manny had worn out his welcome in not one, but two cities, thus cementing himself as a certified clubhouse cancer. 

Regardless of Manny's lesser qualities, his signing is quite a coup.  If can repeat his season long production from last season, this contract had be considered the odds on favorite to win the "Bargain of the Offseason" award.

Rays, Damon Talking Deal

According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, the Tampa Bay Rays are talking to Johnny Damon about bringing him to Florida to fill their perpetually vacant designated hitter slot.  Despite an early report by Yahoo! Sports Tim Brown who made the deal seem imminent, a source close the negotiations disputed the report calling it "very premature."  While that doesn't mean a deal couldn't get done within the next few hours, it's probably more reasonable to expect a deal to get done by midway through next week, if at all.   

Along with Manny Ramirez and Vladmir Guerrero, Damon is one of the last name brand free agents still on the market.  Now considered to be an aging-DH type who can only play the field sparingly, the chances Damon receives any multi-year offers is highly unlikely.  The smart odds are with Damon eventually agreeing to a one year deal worth between $2-4M.  Depending on how he produces next season, could end up being a solid bargain.

Outside of a few scattered reports, it's been a pretty quiet winter for Damon.  The Yankees, Blue Jays, Angels, and Dodgers have expressed some interest, but it was mostly just the "kicking the tires" kind of interest.  Outside of the Angels, none of those teams were likely to give Damon the kind of playing time he desires. 

Damon looks to be a good potential fit in Tampa.  He's a left-handed batter in a division that's becoming increasingly right-handed in terms of pitching.  Last season, Damon put up a .270/.352/.408 line against righties.  It's solid, but not spectacular.  Going into his age-37 season, this is what we should come to expect from here on out.

Scott Boras the Lobbyist

Manny Being Manny...A locker room force to be reckoned with...

With all of the major free agents not named Rafael Soriano off of the market, agents are scrambling to find homes for their remaining free agents.  As ESPN's Jerry Crasnick points out, there is perhaps no group that's as undervalued or underappreciated on the free agent market than veteran DH-type hitters in their mid-to-late 30s.  As such, no agent is faced with a tougher task than Scott Boras who has Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, and Andruw Jones on his list of clients still looking for jobs.

Here's what Boras had to say about his some of his highest profile available clients:

“These guys are star players,” Boras said. “They’re championship-caliber players. Owners and general managers know they have extraordinary abilities, and they can be a force in the locker room and around young players. Those are things that most veteran players don’t offer.”

Star?  Championship caliber?  Apparently, Scott Boras hijacked Doc Brown's Delorian, revved it up to 88 MPH, and went back in time to 2005 when all three of those players were still in their prime.  I understand that it's his job to sell these players, but he's really pushing the envelope when he talks about their "extraordinary abilities" and their leadership abilities--especially when one his of his clients is Manny Ramirez.

Damon, Yankees to Reunite?

UPDATE (12/23/2010 at 11:30 a.m.):  According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, a deal between Damon and the Yankees is unlikely due to the lack of playing time available.  This report identifies the Rays as an "ideal" situation for Damon.  I hadn't thought of it before, but they are looking for DH who will command a reasonable salary.  Damon certainly fits that bill.  Plus, it's close to his home in Orlando.  I wouldn't be surprised to see reports in the near future tying him to the Rays, especially if his salary demands continue to drop.

Original Post (12/22/2010 at 9:50 p.m.):  Ladies and gentleman, we have our first Johnny Damon sighting of the winter!  Well, maybe not the first, but certainly the first in a long time.* 

* I just did a quick Google search of Johnny Damon news stories.  The last story/rumor that mentioned Johnny Damon (prior to today's news) happened on December 17th.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen. 

The Yankees are reportedly in talks with Johnny Damon regarding a possible return the Big Apple after his one year sabbatical in Detroit.   While this is interesting in a "gee whiz" sort of way, I'm not sure how he fits in with the 2011 version of the Yankees.  With Posada soaking up the majority of games at DH, and Brett Gardner having proven his worth in left field, there doesn't appear to be a lot of plate appearances left for Damon.   Also, Damon is reportedly looking for a full-time job, which he certainly won't get with the Yankees unless someone gets injured.

As most of you probably remember, Damon never wanted to leave New York in the first place.  Super agent Scott Boras completely misread the market, and grossly overvalued the demand for his client's skills.  When it came down to it, the only team willing to give him multi-season contract was the Yankees.  The problem was that the Yankees were unwilling to meet Damon's over-the-top salary demands.  (Sound familiar?)  Rather than overpay for an aging, declining asset, the Yankees signed the oft-injured Nick Johnson.  Damon was left to wander the free agent wasteland aimlessly.  A couple of weeks later, he tried to rekindle talks with New York, but they'd moved on.  Instead, he signed with Detroit to a one year $8M deal, in which he hoped to use to rebuild his value.  He did not.  Now, he's a middling free agent once again.  Damon seemed to really enjoy being a Yankee.  It's possible he'd be willing to take a reduced role and lower salary in order to don the Yankee pinstripes once again.

After putting up some of the best offensive numbers with the Yankees in 2009 (.282/.365/.489, .376 wOBA), Damon struggled to find his stroke last season hitting .271/.355/.401 (.340 wOBA).  While those numbers might be acceptable for a center fielder, they aren't for a designated hitter.  Going into his age-37 season, there's reason to believe that the struggles we saw Damon go through in 2010, weren't actually struggles.  They appeared to be a sign of age-related decline.  While we won't know for sure if he's established a new performance baseline until he plays out 2011, it certainly appears to be the case.  

There are still a few teams looking for a full time designated hitter.  The Rangers, Angels, and possibly Orioles are among the interested parties.  Additionally, there are a few National League teams looking for an offense oriented left fielder like the Dodgers and Giants.  While he would certainly be a detriment to both of those teams defensively, his bat should at least provide enough value to cover the veritable black holes currently encumbering the position.