Pat Caputo: Why Johnny Damon Would Make Perfect Sense For The Tigers
I was critical of the Tigers when they signed Johnny Damon before the start of the 2010 season. Earlier that off season, they had unloaded Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco to save money. Then, at the last minute, here comes Johnny Damon for a year and $8 million, seemingly because his boot-licking about loving Greektown and Steve Yzerman worked, and because, from what I was told, owner Mike Ilitch has always admired Damon as a player and simply wanted him on his team.
Circumstances are completely different now. Damon is in his late 30s and his skills have eroded typically, but he still remains a reasonably productive player. He is a free agent late in January and subsequently his price tag is going to be reduced.
The Tigers just had a probable season-ending injury to their premier DH, Victor Martinez. They aren't going to replace him with a clone of VMart. They just don't exist. They must mix and match around the injury. The other options, which are along the lines of trading top prospects for Houston slugger Carlos Lee, aren't particularly viable. The Tigers need to hold their prospect chips until after the season starts, and react to the developments from there.
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