What about Damon?

[E.J.]

Anyone else have a sinking feeling this was the Cubs???

 

Rotoworld:

 

Johnny Damon - OF - Red Sox

 

 

Johnny Damon and agent Scott Boras had face-to-face negotiations with the Red Sox and an undisclosed club over the last couple of days.

Boras indicated that no deal was imminent. Boston's first offer to Damon was believed to be worth $28 million over three years. It's unclear whether he has anything else on the table. Damon figures to end up receiving at least $40 million over four years.

[Drew Doughty]

40m/4 years would be a much smaller contract than I imagined. I still don't want him, but he's a better option than we've really pursued so far.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

I'm not so sure; there's a big difference between a 3 year deal and the 7 year deal Boras was initially jawing about. Given the spot the Cubs are now in, would it be the worst thing to sign Damon for 3/30? 3/33?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'd rather have Bradley, plus according to at least one report, signing Furcal would make the Dodgers more likely to dump Milton.

[Drew Doughty]

Yeah, I can't say I'd mind Damon at his price. And he can catch the ball, he just can't throw it. Nobody said anything about throwing it.

 

He was the third/fourth best leadoff hitter in the AL last year, anyways.

[Jehrico]

I'm not so sure; there's a big difference between a 3 year deal and the 7 year deal Boras was initially jawing about. Given the spot the Cubs are now in, would it be the worst thing to sign Damon for 3/30? 3/33?

 

If it keeps us from giving up the prospects I think the Marlins will demand for Pierre, then I don't think it would be that bad of a deal to offer.

[CubfaninCA]

The Cubs won't pay enough. They need to focus on free agents outside the top 5.

[CheeseHead Cubs Fan]

The top 4 don't sound too bad...

 

Damon

Walker

Lee

Aram

 

HUGE X-Factor would be right field.... (actually, who am I kidding...we have a problem)

[Blueheart05]

The Cubs won't pay enough. They need to focus on free agents outside the top 5.

 

The Cubs offer was more than fair they just got trumped by a GM trying to make a splash.

[CubfaninCA]

The Cubs won't pay enough. They need to focus on free agents outside the top 5.

 

The Cubs offer was more than fair they just got trumped by a GM trying to make a splash.

 

True. It was more than fair, but that doesn't cut it nowadays.

[E.J.]

The Cubs won't pay enough. They need to focus on free agents outside the top 5.

 

The Cubs offer was more than fair they just got trumped by a GM trying to make a splash.

 

Seriously, you can't blame Hendry for Furcal going to LA. There aren't many GM's out there that would give Furcal over $13 million a year.

[Rob]

Hendry will end up signing Furcal at 13 per.

 

But that'll be in 3 years when his dodgers contract runs out.

[stitchface]

please God no Damon.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Hendry will end up signing Furcal at 13 per.

 

But that'll be in 3 years when his dodgers contract runs out.

 

And where will he be the GM then?

[Drew Doughty]

The Dodgers would be a nice fit for him. They'll get tired of Coletti shortly if he makes deals like this consistently.

[Rob]

Hendry will end up signing Furcal at 13 per.

 

But that'll be in 3 years when his dodgers contract runs out.

 

And where will he be the GM then?

 

The sad thing is, it might depend on if he's able to ink Dusty to an extension before next year.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'd move on to Wilkerson. He has experience in the lead-off spot.

[ManCrushOnNomar]

I'll take him at 4/36. Maybe as much as 4/40 with the 4th year vesting based on PAs.

[RyCubsFan]

With Pie just a year off, Damon isn't a good fit for the Cubs. The Cubs need a corner outfielder more than anything. Ideally he would bat lefthanded and have pop. The best candidates: Abreu and Dunn. Hendry needs to get one of these two guys. If they are completely unavailable, then try Wilkerson.

 

I'd much rather go 4/40 for AJ Burnett.

[AramisRamirez]

please God no Damon.

 

see i just dont get this thinking. for 6-years yeah damon isnt a good option, but thats not what we're looking at right now. if we dont get damon, our only other CF option is pierre. pierre is a terrible defender with low OBP. i would still take him as an upgrade on CPatt but not if we need to send a few good prospects to FL.

 

right now we're looking at an OF of murton, patterson, and a re-signed burnitz or jacque jones (who hit .247 last year). calling up pie immediately is a risky move. i would like to see pie take the CF spot at some point during the year but not on opening day.

 

if damon is looking at a 3-year deal, i pounce no matter the price. 3-years at $12M a pop and id still do it. when you get into a 5-year deal with damon, it starts to get risky due to his age. but at this point with how we're positioned i wouldnt spend too much for furcal, pierre, damon, or anybody else. we're not one player away but as far as 3-year deals are concerned, i would pony up alot of money annually because we need to stay competitive while we wait for pie, cedeno, and/or murton to break out. with the youth of zambrano and prior, our window of opportunity to win the WS isnt this season. its in 2-3 seasons so we need to prepare for that. aramis and lee will be peaking at that point, if they arent already. we need a third horse to bat 5th and adding damon wont fill that role. if you add damon that fills one big hole on offense. filling that 5th hole would probably put us in the thick of things if damon were on board.

 

3-years/$36M for damon and 3-years/$20M for jones. he's a career .275 hitter and will probably rebound from last years poor hitting.

[RynoRules]

Don't kill me for saying it, but I would be OK w/ Damon at 4 years and 40 mill IF we also acquire a stand-out corner OF (i.e., Dunn, Abreu or Ramirez).

[XZero771679666304]

Free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon is a left-handed hitter, but he isn't on the Cubs' radar.

[ThePenguin11]

Don't kill me for saying it, but I would be OK w/ Damon at 4 years and 40 mill IF we also acquire a stand-out corner OF (i.e., Dunn, Abreu or Ramirez).

 

Pie would have to get traded to get one of those OF'ers, so adding Damon would become a necessity anyways.

[Flames24Rulz]

Don't kill me for saying it, but I would be OK w/ Damon at 4 years and 40 mill IF we also acquire a stand-out corner OF (i.e., Dunn, Abreu or Ramirez).

[CuseCubFan69]

Free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon is a left-handed hitter, but he isn't on the Cubs' radar.

 

I'm not sure that Furcal was on the Dodgers radar for that long but they came in at the last minute and possibly signed him. I think that Hendry has the funds and the ability to do the same thing for any free agent or player that he wants to trade for.