| Christopher Reina. 5th February, 2010 - 12:57 pm
 The Yankees have ended Johnny Damon's tenure in pinstripes by signing Randy Winn to a one-year contract worth $2 million.
Before debating the merits of how much the Yankees have significantly downgraded offensively by letting Damon walk, it must be said that Damon's four seasons in the Bronx were highly productive. He signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Yankees after Boston held steadfast in offering just three seasons, believing that his production would decline quickly at 34 or 35.
Damon had an OPS+ of 114 (.821 regular OPS) during his four seasons with the Yankees, which was 35th overall amongst hitters with at least 2,000 at bats during the timeframe.
But to Boston's credit, Damon was unable to remain in center field defensively for the length of his contract and they weren't anticipating an early divorce from Manny Ramirez that would have allowed Damon to play the short left at Fenway. The Yankees were able to shift him to left field, where Hideki Matsui was no longer able to play and though his arm remained famously horrible, he wasn't a complete liability. Damon was very capable in left field during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but he fell badly in 2009 with a -12.1 UZR/150.
While nobody expects Winn to replicate Damon's production at the plate, he is still a very good defensive outfielder. He has been well above average in both outfield corners. The Yankees have an inordinate amount of strikeout pitchers, which takes some of the onus off their defense, but it has been something Brian Cashman has stressed heavily over the past few seasons.
Winn's OPS dropped over 100 points from 2008 to 2009, going from .790 to .671. He experienced big drops in his power and also OBP, striking out with greater frequency (17.3%), walking less and also seeing a drop in his BAbip to .314.
After a 2007 in which Damon's OPS his a rock bottom of .747, he rebounded in each of the past two seasons with an .836 in 2008 and .854 in 2009.
Since he won't be hitting in Yankee Stadium (perfectly structured for his swing) and between Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira, his numbers will likely drop in 2010 wherever he ends up signing.
Grade for Yankees: B-
While the Yankees were clear they wanted to significantly reduce Damon's 2010 salary from where it was, they did appear genuinely open to a one-year deal. Damon wanted to remain with the Yankees and the fact that he still hasn't signed with anyone else tells me he is still a little shell-shocked from what happened and also that Scott Boras overestimated the potential alternatives.
Grade for Damon: D |
