Hot Stove Coal: Some Last Thoughts On Johnny Damon and the Yankees OF

While we say RIP to JD Salinger (author of one of my favorite books from High School), we also say so long to another JD--Johnny Damon. Damon's tenure in Pinstripes started with him shaving his caveman-esque hair and beard to fit in with the Yankees, included four very good seasons,and ended in a sort of odd way. Until Randy Winn was announced as a signing by the Yankees, I didn't think he'd actually be gone, but now the door has officially closed.

Some have been lamenting that the Yankees didn't pony up to bring Damon back and others, like Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, feels that the Yankees will regret this. I've always felt that the Yankees and Damon could (key word there) have used each other for another year. The Yankees could use Damon in their lineup and Damon could have used another year of hitting homeruns in the New Yankees Stadium to boost his numbers heading into free agency once again. But in the end, they just never seemed to click on the right price and Damon, Scott Boras and the Yankees divorce is looking like Conan, Leno and NBC as New York Post's Joel Sherman writes. And this bit from Sherman doesn't seem to help Johnny's case at all:

Damon called the Yankees in the middle of last week, and Yankees executives floated a one-year, $6 million deal with $3 million deferred with no interest. The idea was that if Damon approved of that, Yankees officials would see if Hal Steinbrenner would relent and increase the budget specifically to keep Damon. But Damon never responded and the Yankees yesterday signed Randy Winn for $2 million, closing the door on Damon.

Now I have to say I was always a fan of bringing Damon back at the right price. He fit well on this team, in this lineup and in this park. He seemed to keep the team loose and never seemed to be phased by the bright lights of New York. But this team never hinged on Damon coming back. Remember, before he stole two bases on one play in a game in the World Series, many thought he was a goner. Why would one play change all of that? Damon isn't getting any younger or better defensively and the Yankees goal was to do the same. And since Damon hit the DL for the first time in his career in 2008, injuries have not stayed away. Don't forget, Damon did leave the final game of the World Series because of a hamstring pull.

So the fact that the Yankees didn't go out of their way to bring Damon back is not surprising and as Sherman pointed out in a different post, Damon is to blame here too, as much as we like to blame Boras. In the end, Johnny D does deserve a place in Jason's IIATMS Hall of Fame. It was all about the money when he left Oakland, it was all about the money when he left Boston and it's all about the money now, despite his rhetoric about really wanting to play in the Bronx. He seemed to try to distance himself from a guy like Jonathan Papelbon--a guy seemingly uninterested in being anything but a hired gun--by saying he was really interested in returning to Pinstripes. If he was serious about that, he should have immediately accepted the Yankees 2-year, $14 M offer or their $6 M deal mentioned above--which may look like a great deal compared with what he may get. While Damon's expected value may be high, his marginal value to the Yankees was not, especially in a long-term deal:

The Yankees have entered the prime area of significant diminishing marginal utility. They are so good that adding another high quality player doesn’t help them that much in 2010, and because of the long term contract that is required, they’d be risking future flexibility to add wins that may actually matter for an upgrade that just isn’t necessary.

While I believe the Yankees are done with Damon, I don't believe that Brian Cashman is done with leftfield. Although three of the 4-5 bench spots have already been claimed (Randy Winn, backup C, utility INF), there is still room to add one or two more players. Might one of those be Jaime Hoffmann, their Rule V selection? Might one of them be Rocco Baldelli, Johnny Gomes, Eric Byrnes or Marcus Thames on a minor league deal? Might one of them be from the group of unproven OFs the Yankees have assembled which includes recently acquired Greg Golson, Colin Curtis, David Winfree, Jon Weber and others? We don't know that yet. But I don't think the Yankees are done just yet. And as I said in my last post, the Yankees roster on January 28th will not look the same as it does on September 1st. I'll guarantee that much.