Johnny Damon

Heyman’s Latest: Crawford, Yankees, Werth, Twins

By Mike Axisa | March 22, 2010 at 2:20pm CDT

Jon Heyman has a new column up at SI.com, so let's dive on in…

The Rays tried hard to sign Carl Crawford to a contract extension this offseason, but they got nowhere."That's something we spent a good amount of time on this winter and, obviously, wasn't something that came together quickly or easily," said GM Andrew Friedman. Owner Stuart Sternberg added "We're going to do everything we can within our means to keep him a Ray," referring of course to his leftfielder.
The Yankees "absolutely love" Crawford according to a rival executive, and they also like Jayson Werth, who is set to become a free agent after the season. Heyman mentions that they didn't want to re-sign Johnny Damon to a two-year deal this past offseason to potentially keep a spot open for Crawford.
Heyman thinks the Twins will probably go out and acquire a bona fide closer since, as he puts it, it would be the smart thing to do with close to a $100MM payroll. Minnesota has inquired about Heath Bell and Jason Frasor within the last week or two.

Detroit’s 2011 Payroll Situation

By Mike Axisa | March 13, 2010 at 11:29am CDT

Once the Tigers traded Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson for four pre-arbitration eligible players, the thought was that owner Mike Ilitch was trimming payroll after the recession hit Detroit especially hard. However, he then approved a massive extension for ace Justin Verlander as well as the signing of Johnny Damon, and now his team's Opening Day payroll is expected to be somewhere around $130MM, up from $115MM last year.

Lynn Henning of The Detroit News wrote about the payroll savings GM Dave Dombrowski will enjoy after the season, which are pretty significant. Here's a look at the money the Tigers have coming off the books after the 2010 season…

Jeremy Bonderman, $12.5MM salary in 2010
Dontrelle Willis, $12MM
Nate Robertson, $10MM
Johnny Damon, $8MM
Brandon Inge, $6.6MM
Gerald Laird, $3.95MM
Bobby Seay, $2.475MM
Adam Everett, $1.5MM

That's $57.025MM in savings right there, and the team would be wise to avoid letting Magglio Ordonez reach the 540 plate appearances needed for his $15MM option to vest.

Ilitch isn't shy about spending big on the free agent market, and he'll have the money available to add a big bat to complement Miguel Cabrera (Jayson Werth, Aramis Ramirez if he declines his option?) as well as another elite starter to a rotation that already includes Verlander, Rick Porcello, and Max Scherzer (Josh Beckett, Cliff Lee?) after the season. Keep in mind that I was just throwing some names out there off our 2011 free agents list, and that the Tigers have not been linked to any of those players in any rumors we've seen.

The Tigers are already in a position to compete in the AL Central, and once they shed some dead money after the season, they'll have a chance to jump ahead of the pack if they spend wisely.

Odds & Ends: Clark, Twins, Granderson, Sizemore

By Mike Axisa | March 10, 2010 at 3:41pm CDT

Some links for Wednesday…

Former big leaguer Tony Clark has been named the MLBPA's director of player relations, reports MLB.com's Bailey Stephens. Clark hasn't played since being released by the Diamondbacks last July, and his duties with the union are "expected to play a large part in future collective bargaining discussions."
FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says one of the Marlins' many non-roster relievers could become a low-priced option for the Twins if Joe Nathan ends up needing surgery. That group includes Jose Veras, Mike MacDougal, Derrick Turnbow, and Seth McClung.
In an interview with John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press, Curtis Granderson said he never wondered why the Tigers traded him only to sign Johnny Damon less than three months later.
Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com writes that even though the Indians are in full rebuilding mode, the front office is adamant Grady Sizemore isn't going anywhere. Sizemore is under contract for the next two years, and Cleveland holds a $9MM option for 2012.
Baseball America's Ben Badler goes back five years to look at how successful each team has been at developing players from outside the United States.
In response to Milton Bradley's interview with ESPN's Colleen Dominguez about his time in Chicago, GM Jim Hendry and former teammates basically said that Bradley had to look in the mirror, according to The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan and ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine.

Latin Links: Anderson, Cuba, Venezeula

By Nick Collias | March 2, 2010 at 7:49am CDT

All the noticias de beisbol fit to imprimir…

Jorge Ebro at Nuevo Herald spoke to Leslie Anderson’s agent Jaime Torres, who repeated the familiar refrain that Anderson is “about to sign.” Anderson is currently playing for the Tigers of Quintana Roo in the Mexican League, and he has said he is willing to continue playing in Mexico if he doesn’t find the right offer in the majors.
In the same article, Ebro outlines how an increasing number of defections is affecting the level of play in the historically prestigious Cuban Serie Nacional. According to his sources, more than 300 players at various levels have left the island in recent years. Kendry Morales and Yunel Escobar tell Ebro that the league has greatly diminished since when they played in it.
This season, only the US and the Dominican Republic will have more representation on major league rosters than Venezuela. But more South Americans will be playing stateside soon, now that the Venezuelan Baseball Federation has signed a three-year affiliation with the independent Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League. According to the press release, the agreement is intended to showcase not only players, but also coaches and trainers to major league organizations.
Fresh from being bumped to DH and part-time left fielder duties by Johnny Damon, Carlos Guillen spoke with Carlos Valmore Rodriguez at the Venezuelan newspaper La Lider about his career as a position-hopping “Bedouin of baseball.” He lauds the Venezuelan winter leagues for forcing prospects to become more versatile, and passes along the advice he received from journeyman Stan Javier upon starting out with the Mariners: “Work hard in any position, because you know where you start but not where you end up.”

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Brewers, Mets, Paulino

By Mike Axisa | February 23, 2010 at 9:07pm CDT

Some links for Tuesday evening…

In an appearance on Jim Bowden's XM-175 radio show, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman said the team never made an offer to Hideki Matsui, and that their offer to Johnny Damon was conditional (link goes to Twitter).
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets that the Brewers have agreed to terms with four of their pre-arbitration eligible players.
Chad Jennings of The Journal News mentions that the contracts of Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin are not guaranteed. The Yanks could cut them in Spring Training and would only be required to pay them 30-45 days of termination pay.
Luis Castillo spoke about all of the offseason trade rumors he was involved in, writes MLB.com's Marty Noble.
A Mets' official told Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News that the team would like to sign a lefty reliever like Joe Beimel, as long as the pitcher was willing to accept a contract worth about $1MM for just one year.
The Astros signed Felipe Paulino to a one-year deal that will pay him $415K if he makes the big league roster, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (via Twitter). Paulino is likely to be arbitration eligible for the first time as a Super Two next season.
SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that the Diamondbacks and Mark Reynolds have agreed to negotiate a contract extension until Opening Day, though talks will cease after that. Heyman spoke to some executives who think Prince Fielder's two-year, $18MM deal could be used as a comparison.
ESPN's Buster Olney hears from officials involved in the Felipe Lopez bidding that they think the free agent infielder is likely to end up back in St. Louis (link goes to Twitter).
Former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi is joining ESPN as a television analyst, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
Now that the Rod Barajas deal is official, the order for the 2010 draft is set. The Blue Jays, Barajas' former team, hold ten of the first 126 picks.

Heyman On Blalock, Crawford, Reynolds

By Tim Dierkes | February 22, 2010 at 4:11pm CDT

The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

Heyman writes that the Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Hank Blalock. We discussed Blalock here; his prospects are dim now that the Indians, Orioles, Braves, and Pirates have gone in different directions.
Heyman notes that the Yankees love Carl Crawford and that could be one reason they were reluctant to give Johnny Damon a two-year deal. We discussed Crawford's situation earlier today.
The Diamondbacks offered Mark Reynolds an extension to cover his first three arbitration years, in the $11MM range. That'd be quite a concession, since he should easily top $5MM in his first arbitration year.
Heyman tweets that the Braves and Reds "could be in the mix" for outfielder Garret Anderson. Presumably, Anderson is in line for a minor league deal. He was linked to the Dodgers before they signed Reed Johnson.

Tigers Sign Johnny Damon

By Zachary Links | February 22, 2010 at 7:10am CDT

The Tigers officially signed outfielder Johnny Damon to a one-year, $8MM deal today. The contract contains a no-trade clause and no deferred money.

Damon reportedly turned down two offers to return to the Yankees this offseason, the first of which was worth $14MM over two years. The White Sox, Braves, Rays, and Blue Jays were also in the mix for the Scott Boras client.

The 36-year-old Damon hit .282/.365/.489 with a career high tying 24 homers in 2009, which was the best offensive output of his career in terms of OPS+ (126). UZR wasn't kind to his play in the field, saying he was worth -9.2 runs defensively during the course of the season. The Tigers seemed to be headed toward a rebuilding year when they traded Curtis Granderson, but they subsequently added Damon and Jose Valverde.

Yahoo's Tim Brown first reported the agreement on Saturday.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Upton, Damon, White Sox

By Zachary Links | February 21, 2010 at 10:54pm CDT

Sunday night linkage..

Confidential documents in the McCourts' divorce hearing reveal that the Dodgers may seek to spend on players at level pace while doubling ticket prices and revenue through 2018, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. This is bad news for Dodgers fans as the uncertain financial status of the club has limited their activity this winter.
The Indians are keeping mum on their feelings about Edward Salcedo's reportedly impending deal with the Braves, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. Salcedo, according to a Dominican paper, was signed by the Tribe in 2007. The club denied this and word that the prospect lied about his age followed.
Todd Wellemeyer is fighting for a spot with the Giants in Spring Training, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. Wellemeyer had a disappointing 2009 for the Cardinals, posting a 5.89 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
Even though the D-Backs find themselves with two starting-caliber catchers in Miguel Montero and Chris Snyder, GM Josh Byrnes won't try to trade the latter, writes Gilbert. Snyder was nearly dealt for Lyle Overbay in November before the Blue Jays got cold feet.
Justin Upton has had discussions with the Diamondbacks regarding a contract extension, writes Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. The 22-year-old is under contractual control for four more years.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that some Scott Boras detractors believe he sacrificed Johnny Damon for Matt Holliday. Some rival agents and club executives assert that the super-agent declined to negotiate with the Yankees regarding Damon early on, allowing the possibility that they could pursue Holliday. Boras scoffed at the notion when asked about it by Rosenthal.
Jake Peavy would have liked to see Damon join the White Sox, writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com.

Odds & Ends: Damon, A’s, Beckett, Reynolds, Dye

By Luke Adams 2 | February 21, 2010 at 4:29pm CDT

Sunday links….

Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times has Kenny Williams' final take on missing out on Johnny Damon to the Tigers. Cowley's piece also expands a bit on the Dye note we've linked to below.
The A's received cash to complete the trades for both Adam Rosales and Dana Eveland, writes Susan Slusser.
Regarding his current contract situation, Josh Beckett says he and the Red Sox "talked about talking," according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier. Beckett says he won't have anything to say about the situation during Spring Training or even after. Speier's piece also contains video highlights of Beckett's press conference, including his take on Mike Lowell's situation.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert has a series of tweets regarding Mark Reynolds, who hopes to have his contract situation resolved within the next couple weeks. Reynolds says that the deadline for talks is still Opening Day. Gilbert adds that the current discussion is whether to buy out two or three arbitration years.
White Sox GM Ken Williams considered pursuing Jermaine Dye, but felt that the Sox' need for a left-handed bat was more pressing, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).
MLB.com's Scott Merkin tweets that John Danks and the White Sox did not discuss a multi-year deal this offseason.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports, via Twitter, that the Rays were in the mix for Johnny Damon until the end, bidding more than every team but the Tigers.
Jim Leyland says that Damon's arrival in Detroit won't mean any less at-bats for Carlos Guillen, according to John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian breaks down (via Twitter) the early-round draft picks the Blue Jays will now hold this summer, following the Mets' agreement with Rod Barajas.
Former Brave Greg Norton will head into 2010 as a coach instead of a player for the first time. He'll serve as the hitting coach for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate.
WEEI's Alex Speier takes a look at the first impression made in Red Sox camp by slick-fielding shortstop Jose Iglesias. Many felt the Sox overpaid for the Cuban prospect last summer, but according to Speier, the Cubs were willing to pay even more.

Johnny Damon Rumors: Saturday

By Mike Axisa | February 20, 2010 at 10:17am CDT

After the White Sox pulled their offer to Johnny Damon yesterday, Braves' GM Frank Wren indicated to MLB.com's Mark Bowman that "Nothing has changed on our end," perhaps meaning that they weren't preparing a last minute offer. At the moment, it appears the only offer Damon and his camp have is from the Tigers, who reportedly offered a deal worth up to $7.5MM with some money deferred.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported yesterday that Scott Boras wanted one of two things from Tigers' owner Mike Ilitch: a one-year deal that doesn't include any deferred money, or a legitimate two-year deal.

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