Does Curtis Granderson Spell The End For Johnny Damon in Pinstripes?
December 9, 2009 · Gavin Bedell · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
With rumors swirling throughout the baseball world at this year’s Winter Meetings, the biggest move so far has been the three team trade between the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks.
It is rumored the Yankees will receive Curtis Granderson, the Tigers will receive Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke, and Austin Jackson, and the Diamondbacks would receive Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy.
The trade featured two big time prospects.
Jackson was the Yankees’ top minor league prospect, ranked the 39th best prospect in all the land by Baseball America. Over the past year or so, scouts have been sceptical of Jackson, wondering if maybe his potential was leveling out.
Scherzer is a highly-regarded SP with an electric fastball. His delivery has been in question over the past year, maybe a reason for his part in the trade.
If the trade goes through, one has to wonder what the Yankees will do with free agent OF Johnny Damon. Damon is looking for a multi-year deal, but at the age of 36, the Yankees are reluctant to guarantee Damon anything more than a one year deal.
Granderson will most likely take over Melky Cabrera’s CF spot, moving Melky to either LF or RF. Where does this leave Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher?
Swisher was such an important part of a very loose Yankees clubhouse. It was his humor and hustle that brought together the Yankee team that saw a plethora of the free agents brought in for the 2009 season. It would be a disappointment if Swisher was traded; he is a fun player to watch and shows you that some players just enjoy being out on the field everyday.
Does the Granderson trade possibly dismiss the notion that the Yankees might resign him? Possibly. I’m sure the Yankees would love to have Damon around for another year, maybe even two, but the possibility the Yanks sign him for anything more is not looking good for the 36 year old Damon.
It would be sad to see Johnny go. Like Swisher, he always has a smile on his face and you always see him in the dugout exchanging complicated, humorous handshakes with the young players.
There’s always the possibility that Damon could come back as the DH. It could be a good way to keep his legs fresh and keep him healthy.
The Yankees have all the leverage now with the addition of Granderson, so it will be interesting to see how this affects the negotiations with Johnny. But, to even get into that conversation, Damon has to lower his asking price if he wants any chance to be wearing pinstripes in 2010.
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