Home MLB Rounding the Bases: Sheets, Damon, Thome etc

Rounding the Bases: Sheets, Damon, Thome etc

by Matt Smith

MlbHlSqIt’s now less than three weeks until the first day on which pitchers and catchers can report to Spring Training (18 February) and it’s just 64 days until Opening Day. 

Much of the winter offseason is now behind us and we now know where a lot of the 09/10 free agents will be playing this season; however there are still some more-than-useful players waiting to find a club.  Johnny Damon and Pedro Martinez were playing in the World Series last October and they don’t yet know where they will need to report for Spring Training.  You can add the likes of Orlando Hudson, Carlos Delgado, Jermaine Dye, Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn to that list as well, although a number of players did sign deals over the past week. 

A’s sign Sheets

The big signing of the week was Oakland’s capture of free agent pitcher Ben Sheets. 

MLB: Brewers v Rangers June 9, 2007

‘Big Ben’ was one of the more intriguing players on the free agent market this offseason: an ace-type talent who carried plenty of risk after sitting out all of 2009 after undergoing elbow surgery.  A number of teams were linked with Sheets, not least the New York Mets, but it was the A’s who somewhat surprisingly stumped up $10m (£6.26m) to win his signature.

It’s a deal that makes a lot of sense for both parties.  The A’s are in rebuilding mode, but General Manager Billy Beane has showed in the past that if a good player is out there at the right price, he’ll make a move.  It’s the same plan of attack that has led to the A’s being linked with Johnny Damon recently.  If Sheets performs well, some other veterans step up (the first decent contribution from Eric Chavez for a few years perhaps?) and a youngster or two really takes a leap forward, then the A’s could spring a surprise and edge the AL West.  If  Sheets is the only part of those three factors that comes good, he can be traded to a postseason contender prior to the deadline for some more useful youngsters to add to the A’s growing horde (ala Matt Holliday last year).   And if even Sheets doesn’t pan out, well it’s only a one-year commitment and the A’s weren’t expected to be competitive anyway.  In many respects, the A’s can’t lose.

For Sheets, this offseason was about finding a good home to prove his worth once again and then to look for a multi-year contract over the 2010/11 offseason.  Oakland is as good a place as any to put that plan in motion.  There will be no signs of panic if he starts off slowly after such a long lay-off, not something you could have said if he had signed for the Mets, and  the Coliseum is very favourable to pitchers, as we all know.  If he pitches well then he’ll either boost his stock by leading the A’s into October (or very close to it) or by being an impact signing for another team after the All-Star break.  Add in the $10m that the A’s were willing to pay and it’s a great situation for the former Brewers ace.

A Winn for the Yankees, a loss for Damon?

New York Yankees' Johnny Damon gets ready to bat against the Chicago White Sox

Rumours have been circulating that Johnny Damon may join Ben Sheets in Oakland, a prospect made all the more possible after the New York Yankees’ reached an agreement with former Giant Randy Winn on a one-year deal worth $2m (£1.25m).  Winn will be the fourth outfielder in the Bronx and his signing almost certainly means that Damon’s expected return to the Yankees will not materialise.  Not yet, at least.

It’s a slightly strange situation in that continuing the Damon-Yankees relationship seemed to make a huge amount of sense for both parties.  Damon clearly wanted to stay with the Yankees and he was a good fit for them, not least in the way in which he took advantage of the New Yankee Stadium.  However, Damon and his agent Scott Boras were not prepared to accept a contract for less than they thought the outfielder was worth.  There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but it was a price that the Yankees were not prepared to pay and they decided to go in a different direction instead: trading for Curtis Granderson, signing Nick Johnson and Randy Winn on relatively inexpensive deals and using the remaining money to pay for Javier Vazquez’s wages.  That has left Damon looking at a variety of one-year deals, with the A’s, Blue Jays, Braves, Rays and Tigers all being linked with him over the last week. 

Still, the idea of Damon being reacquired by the Yankees in a midseason trade has already been floated and, if he has a good first-half to the season, it would be no surprise to see him back in pinstripes. 

As if you’d never left

The Damon-Yankee reunion may be on hold, but several other players returned to their former teams this week.

The Dodgers re-signed two bench players, coming to terms on one-year deals for both veteran back-up catcher Brad Ausmus and second baseman Ronnie Belliard.  L.A. also brought back starting pitcher Vicente Padilla on a one-year deal last week.  Staying in the NL West, the Rockies liked what they saw in Jason Giambi at the end of last season and decided to bring him back for a full year.  He figures to be a spot-starter for regular first baseman Todd Helton and a power bat off the bench.  Another former Oakland A also found his way back to one of his previous teams.  The Baltimore Orioles signed Miguel Tejada on a one-year deal with a view to him moving from shortstop to third base (pushing other offseason acquisition Garrett Atkins over to first).  Tejada played for the Orioles for four straight seasons between 2004 and 2007 before spending two years with the Houston Astros.

Division returns

If returning to your old club isn’t an option, then returning to a previous division can be the next best thing. 

Chicago White Sox v New York Yankees

Jim Thome spent time in the National League (with the Phillies and with the Dodgers at the end of last season), but his history is mainly linked to the AL Central after his stints with the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox.  Chicago thought long and hard about bringing Thome back, but Ozzie Guillen has decided that he couldn’t make great use of the slugger as he wants a flexible DH spot.  Division rivals the Minnesota Twins stepped in and snapped him up on a one-year deal worth $1.5m, which could rise to $2.25m if he meets certain performance targets.  Jason Kubel had a strong 2009 as the Twin’s DH (.300 batting average, 28 homers and 103 RBIs), yet manager Ron Gardenhire hopes to find Thome his share of spot-starts at DH while also using him as an impact bat off the bench.  Gardenhire is excited to have the slugger on his side at last:

“He looks like stinkin’ Babe Ruth and he takes swings like Babe Ruth. We’ve seen too many fly against us. Now let’s see some fly for us.” 

Meanwhile, Jim Edmonds is bidding to make a return to the NL Central, this time on a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.  The former St Louis favourite, and a Cub in 2008, couldn’t find a job last year.  His public attempts to seal a return to the Cardinals didn’t come off, but the Brewers have given him an opportunity to make their club if he has an impressive Spring Training.

Other notable deals

  • The Kansas City Royals signed free agent outfielder Rick Ankiel on a one-year deal worth $3.25m, with a $6m option for 2011.  The former pitcher struggled through 2009 with the Cardinals, dealing with a variety of injuries and hitting .231/.285/.387 with 11 homers in 122 games.  Ankiel’s unusual career path makes it difficult to predict whether last year was a blip or if his decent 2008 showing was a one-off.  The Royals have taken a worthwhile gamble to find out.
  • The Chicago Cubs acquired two position players, signing outfielder Xavier Nady on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $3.3m and first baseman Chad Tracy on a minor league deal.  Nady played well down the stretch for the Yankees back in 2008, but he played in just nine games last year and underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career.  Tracy was a free agent after his six-year period with the D-Backs came to an end.  His decent performances in 2005 and 2006 (.294 with 47 homers combined) look a long way off now, although he has a shot at earning a Major League roster spot as a bench player and occasional deputy for Derrek Lee. 
  • The Philadelphia Phillies signed veteran Cuban pitcher Jose Contreras on a one-year deal worth $1.5m. Contreras found a new lease of life as a reliever when he joined the Rockies at the start of September last year and the Phillies see him as a bullpen guy, although he gives them another starting option if required.
  • The San Diego Padres signed two veteran free agents: starting pitcher Jon Garland and bench-bat extraordinaire Matt Stairs.

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4 comments

Joe Cooter January 31, 2010 - 11:24 am

This has been an interesting week as my three month wait for more baseball is nearly over. MLB is showing the Caribean World Series this week. (Live gAmes)What strikes me is the fact that almost nobody expects Sheets to be with the Athletics come September, as most people expect that Billy Bean will trade him for prospects come the trade deadline, if the A’s are out of the race.

As for the Damon Situation, this one has been interesting. Many people are criticizing the Yankees for actually sticking to a budget. It most be pointed out that these are the same people who criticize the Yankees for not maintain a budget. Having said that, I really do think that the Yankees are trying to get their monetary house in order and would like to get younger on the field. Like it or not, Damon is 37 years old and giving him a two or three year deal, which is what Scott Boras would have wanted, is not that good idea in the long term. I also think this opens the door for the Yankees to go after Carl Crawford next year, when he becomes a free agent. Crawford is younger, can run like the wind, and is as good a hitter as damon with more consistent power than damon. That’s what this entire thing is about. That’s why they didn’t bring Jose Molina back, they wanted to get younger and they saw enough from Fransico Cerivelli to justify making him the back up catcher.

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Jimbob January 31, 2010 - 8:55 pm

So the Yankees 2011 line up will look something like this:

Jeter (SS);
Mauer (C);
A-Rod (3B);
Teixeira (1B);
Posada (DH);
Crawford (LF);
Cano (2B);
Granderson (CF);
Swisher (RF)

Scarey!

Reply
Joe Cooter January 31, 2010 - 10:48 pm

I doubt we’ll get Mauer. But if we did, i wouldn’t hit him third or fourth. I might hit him sixth. I just don’t see him as the big time hitter that everybody says he is. He’s not the big time clutch hitter everyones says he is. It was the likes of Micheal Cuddayer and Jason Kubal who drove in the key runs for the twins down the stretch, not Mauer.

Reply
Jimbob February 3, 2010 - 1:38 pm

You’re probably right Joe re Mauer’s position in the lineup and of course A-Rod would bat clean up. But assume Mauer bats sixth, who bats two?

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