Feb 082010
According to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman, the Yankees have signed 33-year old outfielder, Marcus Thames. Thames, a right-handed hitter, was originally drafted by the Yankees in 1996 and was traded to Texas for Ruben Sierra in 2003. He is a career .256/.329/.516 hitter against left-handers and appears to be the right-handed bench bat the team has been searching for (we hardly knew ye, Jamie Hoffmann). Thames hit .252/.323/.453 last year while with Detroit. Joel Sherman reports that it’s a minor-league contract and that Thames would earn $900K if he makes the team. This likely means that the Yankees are no longer interested in either Jonny Gomes or Rocco Baldelli.
Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
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Solid move. His glove is terrible, but it should never see the field when he pinch-hits. When he starts (rare, only against good lefties), you live with the glove. Nice fit for what they needed. I preferred Gomes, but he probably wanted more money and a chance at a starting job.
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Chris H. Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Agreed, Mo. I was looking at the numbers for Gomes and Thames and they seem much more similar than I had originally thought. I still would have preferred Gomes, like you, but yea, this is still a useful addition.
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Well, what’s not to like about this bit of recruitment? A great bat to have on the bench and a pretty low-risk deal for a dependable, proven major-leaguer with bags of AL experience. I like this deal a lot.
The fact that Thames shares a name with the my hometown river here in the UK is just an added bonus as far as I am concerned!
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we need one more left fielder ,cashman will pull through..hey how abut roy white??? whats that 3.3 mil now on
that spot plus bruney
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I love this.
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Not thrilled with the move, but if he make the team, he can straight mash lefties. .360 wOBA vs. LHP in his career, along with a .260 IsoP.
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I don’t understand the hesitation here. This guy hits lefties and has always wanted to make it with the Yankees. He has proven that he does not need to play everyday to hit, hits with power, and strikes out no more than Gardner. He makes for a vastly improved lineup versus left handed pitching.
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Agree with the pro comments. I think we’re done now unless a big injury occurs, at least until mid-season.
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Go for Magglio and get ‘em all.
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