The Johnny Damon Sweepstakes have begun, which is another way of saying, "hey, there's a Johnny Damon sweepstakes?"
Jon Heyman is reporting that the Baltimore Orioles are interested in Damon's services, and the Mariners and A's could be in on him as well. And he really wants you to know that Damon has been on 6 AL teams already. Grant Brisbee at Baseball Nation points out that there's not exactly a lot of teams that both need a DH and have the money to spend on a player like Damon:
- Twitter / @JonHeymanCBS - "the #orioles appear to have some interest in johnny damon. if they sign him, thatd make it 7 AL teams (and 0 NL) for jd"
- Twitter / @JonHeymanCBS - "#orioles, #mariners, #a's among potential players for damon. if balt or sea get him, thatll make it 7 diff. AL teams for jd"
-
And Now Johnny Damon - Lookout Landing
"I know it sounds weird. Damon is 38 years old. Last year he posted a .743 OPS. The year before that, he posted a .756 OPS. He's no longer much of anything in the field. On the surface, Damon seems like a bad fit. But he'd really...well he wouldn't be a horrible fit." -
MLB Free-Agent Prediction: Johnny Damon - Baseball Nation
"But out of the bubble you have to find teams that don't already have a better option at DH, who don't have a lot of money tied up already at DH, or who really don't need to spend a couple of million on a player who will take at-bats away from a younger player. Here's my attempt at eyeballing a list of AL teams that make perfect sense for Damon: (.)" -
2011 Rays DHs, Manny and Damon, Looking for Work - FanGraphs Baseball
"Where will it be? Well, on the back of the envelope, Damon’s 2011 salary was $2.75 million less than his 2010 salary, and his 2010 salary was $5 million less than his 2009 salary. If that trend were to continue, that would suggest that his 2012 salary would be somewhere around $4 million — which is right in line with the one-win performance that it may be fair to expect from him next year." -
Rays Update: Scott Deal Official; Damon Likely Out; Still Looking for Bats - MLB Daily Dish
"The deal likely means Johnny Damon is out, but Rays GM Andrew Friedman says they're still looking for additional bats -- and that doesn't necessarily mean first base."