While the Yankees' primary focus remains pitching, they have been communicating with free agent Johnny Damon about a possible return to the Yankees for 2011, Newsday has learned.
Four sources said that Damon and the Yankees were talking about a role in which Damon, 37, would get occasional at-bats as a designated hitter and fill in at leftfield, allowing starting leftfielder Brett Gardner to either rest or shift to fill in for centerfielder Curtis Granderson or rightfielder Nick Swisher.
Damon would prefer a job with more guaranteed playing time, two of the sources said, so a deal is not close and far from guaranteed. But there have been multiple conversations between the two sides, and at the moment, neither Damon nor the Yankees appear thrilled with their other options.(Newsday)
I tend to agree, don't count on a Damon pickup happening. While he'd be a nice utility guy to have around, at 37 he's definitely on the downside in terms of performance. Gotta think there are better options out there still.
As much as I like Damon as a player, this doesn't seem to be fit right now.
Posted by: Tom | December 23, 2010 at 12:22 PM