Damon a Victim of Greed in Today’s Baseball
By Jed Weisberger ~ December 20th, 2009. Filed under: Jed Weisberger.
First of all, I have no problem with the Yankees signing Nick Johnson to be their designated hitter. As long as he stays healthy, he ought to have an excellent season.
I am, however, a bit remiss about the departure of Johnny Damon. Even before he played with the Yankees, back when he was a youngster in the Kansas City system, it was easy to see he would give everything he had and was a winner.
His health not a question, Damon had an excellent season for the Yankees in 2009, contributing during the regular campaign and, of course, registering the signature play of the 2009 World Series.
The Yankees wanted him to come back. Damon wanted to return as well. Who got in the way? Scott Boras, his omnipresent agent, naturally.
By continuing to demand a three-year deal, Boras, in a free-agent market that can be rated C-plus at best, took away any leverage Damon had with the Yankees. While valuable as a No. 2 hitter, one whose bat fits the new Yankee Stadium like a glove, he is not a player worth a three-year deal at this stage.
Damon will play next season at 36 – his birthday is Nov. 5 – and his outfield skills, while still rated capable, have diminished. He can be run on. His value is that of a stand-up guy, a player who will raise his game to another level even if hurt and to contribute the type of game-changing at-bats he did in Game 4 of the World Series.
Is that worth two years and $20 million? Absolutely! Can that be stretched to two years and $24 million through incentives and the like? Probably! Unfortunately, Boras didn’t come off his pedestal until it was too late.
An agent can play such a game as Boras did with Damon when the player has no desire to return to his former team. Even though millions have already been made, this type of “bargaining’’ has to be a bit galling to a player.
Damon will sign with some team, but will it be one of any consequence? Will he contribute to some other club in relative obscurity? Perhaps San Francisco might be his best landing spot, unless another American League club has a spot to add him as designated hitter.
And the price tag won’t be three years, $39 million. It might be closer to that $5 million, single-season deal Bobby Abreu signed with the Angels for 2009.
Players come and players go. The Yankees needed to get a bit younger. Damon, however, was still in their plans. Unfortunately, the agent and the way baseball has evolved got in the way.
WELCOME BACK, TONY: The Yankees announced a minor-league move that was easily missed in the agate of transactions in most newspapers Saturday.
Tony Franklin is returning to manage the Double-A Trenton Thunder for a fourth season. In his three seasons in Trenton, Franklin has led the Thunder to a pair of Eastern League championships and has been an excellent mentor to more than a dozen players who passed through his clubhouse to Yankee Stadium.
“Our goal here is too teach players what it’s like in the major leagues and how much work they have to do in order to get there and stay there,’’ said Franklin.
With his return to Trenton, players like Jesus Montero, Austin Romine and Brandon Laird will be in excellent hands in 2010.
December 20th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Boras didn’t hold a gun to Johnny Damon’s head.
Ultimately he is an employee of Damon and if Johnny had directed him to behave differently or had fired him, this might have turned out differently.
December 20th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
That’s not the point. When you hire an expert you follow their lead. Boras knew Damon wanted to be a Yankee, and Boras misplayed the hand. It’s not his first misplay, and his reputation is tarnished. He doesn’t know how to adjust to the economy. He’s a bully.
December 20th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
The demon seed (boras) got played by his biggest customer.
Cashman’s first transaction was to secure an outfielder,to take away any leverage boras/damon would have.
He did it so smoothly.boras was still saying how great damon is and needed by thevYankees, comparing the contract Jeter (a home grown Yankee) will get, as something damon should get too.
I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR BIG MARKET TEAMS TO STICK IT TO boras FOR YEARS. He is bad for baseball. If you can’t afford to go to a game or take your family, blame boras
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:18 am
I’m glad he’s gone. Yeah, I liked him too when he was younger in KC and Oakland, and even early in his Boston tenure, but the guy is awful in the field, to the point where running on his arm is a joke to teams like the Angels. He had a nice year at the plate but that was 50% the new stadium, 35% the fact that it was his contract year, and 15% Johnny Damon. And seeing as it was his walk year, I fully expect his offensive numbers to decline in 2010, wherever he is.
December 26th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Damon’s price will come down as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of bidding on him. But now that the Yankees added Granderson and Nick Johnson, they will have so many lefty hitters. They may have to go with a right handed hitter for left field to give the line up some balance.