Message Boards

Welcome to the baseball roundtable, This week we have Matt Stobl, Rich Stowe, Joe Cantello, and Ian Morris


1. Johnny Damon turned down the Yankee's offer- exactly what do you think the late 30's outfielder will do?

Rich: Damon will end up signing a 1 year deal somewhere else (a la Bobby Abreu last year) with a team that needs a LF but misses out on Bay/Holliday. No idea which team that will be.

Matt: Damon will be patient this off-season. Thus far, it's been pretty quiet on the bidding front. Guys like Jason Bay and Damon need to weigh their options carefully, not jumping at an offer too soon, but also not waiting so long that they get backed into a corner. There are only so many teams that can give Damon what he's looking for, and ultimately he'll likely need to reduce his demands in order to get anything close to what he wants. By the time 2010 rolls around, I expect that Damon will have settled for something closer to 3 years, even if he gets the dollar amount he's seeking. As for now, there's little desperation, even among the teams that need to be desperate. That will change as camps near.

Ian: Damon obviously doesn't have sufficient defensive skills in my mind to be a proficient outfielder any more. He never had an arm, and now that those late 30's legs are taking effect, he's not as speedy as he once was either. I see him ending up either as a part-time DH or part-time outfielder in the AL with a team such as the Royals or Mariners, or as a platoon-type outfielder with an NL team.

Joseph: okay Ian- ya get a pass on Damon because I basically agree
with you. Also his agent overpriced him and then destroyed his market which
was only the Yankees to begin with. Cashman called Boras bluff and then
said fergeddaboudit and signed some one else with a better OBP.



More about the Winter Meetings, Milton Bradley the Halliday three way and more!

http://www.informativesports.com/MLB/Roundtable/MLB_round table_007.htm