[blog] What the Nick Johnson Deal Would Mean for the Yankees

[alwaysblue (Ti Amo)]

What the Nick Johnson Deal Would Mean for the Yankees

By TYLER KEPNER

The Yankees are on the verge of reaching a contract agreement with Nick
Johnson, which would mean losing Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui in the same
week. Matsui has already signed with the Angels, and the Yankees’ deal with
Johnson (for one year and about $5.5 million) would give them a new No. 2
hitter and designated hitter.

Losing Damon will hurt. Even General Manager Brian Cashman acknowledged on
Thursday that Damon is “the perfect two-hole hitter for this place.” The
Yankees will miss Damon’s speed, his quality at-bats and his ability to put
the bat on the ball. And they will miss his personality, of course.

But the Yankees priced Damon at about $9-10 million per year, for two years
at the most, and they believe they can live with Johnson.

Johnson’s assets and drawbacks are obvious. The good: he’s a left-handed
hitter, he knows the Yankees and he got on base at a better rate last year
(.426) than everybody except Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols. The bad: he’s
slow, he’s prone to injury, and he plays a position already occupied by Mark
Teixeira.

Then again, by keeping Johnson off the field, the Yankees can limit his risk
of injury, and there is no rule that says Johnson would have to be the
starting D.H. every day. The Yankees could use Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez,
Derek Jeter and Teixeira there as often as they like. Johnson, a
happy-go-lucky guy, has been itching to play for a winner since the Yankees
traded him to the Montreal Expos (remember them?) after the 2003 World Series.

Also, there is this: next year’s free-agent class could be the best ever,
with Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Cliff Lee, Joe Mauer, Brandon Webb and
Jayson Werth -– not to mention Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. The Yankees
figure to spend an awful lot of money in that market, and they want to save
payroll and keep commitments short wherever they can.

In the big picture, the Yankees are replacing Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui
with Curtis Granderson and Johnson. So they swap two older left-handed
hitters who made $26 million in 2009 for two younger left-handed hitters who
will make about $14 million in 2010. They replace a speed guy and a slow guy
with another speed guy and slow guy.

Is it perfect? Of course not. But that is the rationale, as I understand it.
And because they had $9 million or so budgeted for Damon, the Yankees have
more room in the 2010 payroll to chase another pitcher. Will it be Ben
Sheets? Aroldis Chapman? Someone else? Right now, that seems to be the final
significant piece in the Yankees’ plan for next season.

source：http://0rz.tw/6ajSB


--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 218.167.12.125
→ alwaysblue:也許洋基今年真的是要省錢為明年的自由市場做準備了..
※ 編輯: alwaysblue      來自: 218.167.12.125       (12/18 16:57)
推 dennis0210:兩天後  [新聞] Yanks welcome Holliday to Bronx.....
推 charmania: 三天後  [新聞] Yanks welcome Bay      to Bronx.....
推 noahlin:隊長+MO的續約應該會稍微便宜一點吧 明年合計36M...
推 realestate:希望能便宜一點 簽個養老約在洋基退休吧
→ b391702:但Jeter不知道還可以再守幾年的SS = =