Johnny Damon has already stated that he prefers to stay with the Yankees and in reality, who wouldn’t? According to Ken Rosenthal, Scott Boras is going to use Bobby Abreu’s 2 year/$19 million fleecing of the Angels as a baseline for Johnny Damon.
As a Yankees fan, I have a desire to see Damon back for 2 years tops until Austin Jackson can push Melky over to left field. If he is using Abreu’s contract as a baseline, I would almost certainly take him for $9.5 million annually.
However, in another piece that ran in the Daily News recently, a source close to Damon has said that he won’t give the Yankees a discount to stay in pinstripes. That is about right in line with what he has said all season in regards to staying in New York for a shorter deal, but a supposed higher annual salary.
While I have no problem seeing Damon comeback for 2 years at the most, I wouldn’t want the Yankees to pay him the $13 million per year he had been paid in 2009. With the degradation of his fielding skills (See: Throwing Arm) I don’t think he is worth what he was four years ago when he signed with the Yankees. While, I believe he is going to get more than Abreu’s $19 million total, it will likely be in the range of $20-24 million.
M. B. Rozell
Kevin Rozell
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